Editor’s note: ClearView Financial Media – publisher of WealthBriefing, Family Wealth Report and WealthBriefingAsia - is hosting a WealthMatters event on 2 October. The conference will bring together luminaries from across the wealth management industry who will be discussing business-critical developments as well as sharing invaluable case studies and best-practice insights.

The event will be held at One America Square Conference Centre in London; readers can register their attendance here.

Against a backdrop of heightened pressure to meet new regulations and compliance measures, wealth managers are increasingly coming to see enhanced technology as the solution to a turbulent environment.

Our panel of industry experts will be addressing and debating the important issues currently affecting the wealth management technology space.

Panellists to include:

Matt Claxton, COO, PBB International, Standard Bank Group;
Steve Dyson, founding director, Investment & Wealth Management Consultants;
Roy Dunlop, CTO and managing partner, BRT SA;
Roy Wood, sales and marketing director, Advanced 365.

Wealth management firms are currently leveraging technologies to improve client and advisor experience to increase competitiveness as well as reduce long-term operational efficiencies as a result of increased margin pressure.

However, with cost/income ratios running high, firms need to be smart in their technology and operations investment to make sure their programmes deliver.

One of the key issues the panel will be discussing is the impact of regulatory and compliance issues on technology spending.

Regulation has become a key driver of change in IT strategies across the wealth management industry. A survey released by Ernst and Young in April found that 38 per cent of firms see regulatory compliance as their main operational challenge. Already this year, we have seen the implementation of the Retail Distribution Review and the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive, which have heightened the focus on costs, pricing and investment performance.

The panel will also be looking at how mobile technology looks set to revolutionise the wealth management industry. Firms are focusing on mobile technology to help update their client-related functionalities in order to improve their overall client service offerings and retain the best advisors. While still at an early stage, it will be very much the norm in the next three years for clients to communicate and access portfolio information via a mobile device.

Another key topic of debate will be the role of outsourcing. With the increase in competition, wealth managers are having to focus more attention on clients and services. Outsourcing technology not only gives wealth managers the freedom to concentrate on their core activities, but also access to high-end expertise as well as enabling them to embrace innovation faster.