Global provider of outsourced asset management, investment processing and investment operations solutions, SEI, has released an Executive Qu...

Global provider of outsourced asset management, investment processing and investment operations solutions, SEI, has released an Executive Quick Poll that shows that wealth managers are rapidly moving toward implementing open architecture. An overwhelming majority of poll respondents (85 per cent) said that within the next twelve months the decision to offer open architecture investment solutions and expertise will be a top priority for wealth managers. Fifty-one wealth management executives responded to the online poll. They were asked a series of questions to determine their level of interest and perceived challenges in implementing open architecture investment solutions. According to the poll, forty-eight per cent of respondents said the desire to be seen by clients as free from conflicts of interest is the biggest reason they offer, or are moving toward, open architecture. Twenty per cent said they prefer an open architecture investment solution because it allows them to focus more resources on client-facing activities; 18 per cent said the competitive landscape demands that they offer more than proprietary products. "The emerging wealth market presents a tremendous opportunity for bank wealth management institutions," said Al Chiaradonna, head of global strategy and innovation for SEI's Private Banking and Trust Segment. A majority of respondents (57 per cent) offer a mix of proprietary and open architecture investment products. Just eight per cent offer only proprietary investment products. Eighty-six per cent of respondents say their banks plan to offer a "hybrid investment architecture" that blends open architecture with proprietary products.