Expert: John Driscoll, Business Development Manager, Moneyfarm
Facilitator: Kevin Mountford, Co founder, Raisin UK

Key takeaways:

• Wealth managers need to make sure they can service future and existing customers – to do that they need the right technology.
• Financial services firms have tried and largely failed to develop tech solutions in house and should now look to collaborate to plug the tech gap.
• A collaborative approach means technology allows the wealth manager to expand the reach and do multiple jobs, conversion, AUM, engagement and retention to underpin the still much- needed personal touch.
• Technology will never replace the human contact; it will complement it by sitting in the background and providing a sleek experience – from initial onboarding to techniques to support ongoing engagement.

Context

Wealth managers need to make sure they can service future and existing customers – to do that they need the right technology.
The use of digital is clearly growing in itself but it is especially pertinent when it comes to the younger generation starting to create and inherit wealth. This group generally have higher expectations when it comes to engaging with technology and having a sleek experience. Wealth managers need to meet expectations.

Buy vs build

Financial services firms have tried and largely failed to develop tech solutions in-house and should now look to collaborate to plug the tech gap.
This is partly a defensive move as financial services firms rush to grab something to prepare for all eventualities. This is also a means to respond to the clear threat posed by failing to meet the needs of the younger generation and their high expectations. 

Collaboration also makes sense for vendors as they do not have the brand or reach of wealth managers.

Financial services have already started moving into partnerships: Standard Life with Choices, Aviva and TSB with Wealthify, JP Morgan with Nutmeg and Goldman Sachs with Marcus to name a few. This makes sense as the distributors have the brand and the customers and the capital so it makes sense for the vendors and distributors alike.

Collaboration wins

A collaborative approach means technology allows the wealth manager to expand the reach and do multiple jobs, conversion, AUM, engagement and retention to underpin the still much- needed personal touch.
Humans still have the craving for human contact. To facilitate this, wealth managers need an underlying autopilot doing all the ticks and crosses and making life easier in that way. This is a hybrid approach which can also be moved up or down the balance scale depending on the complexity and the client segment and demographics.

Tech solutions should support the wealth managers to engage with customers and provide a sleek experience.

Retaining the human touch is important
Currently there is a disconnect between product and adviser. And higher risk services such as whole of life planning and investing and inheritance are obviously more complex than buying an insurance product in terms of risk suitability and trust in the provider.

Thus, even though people do want to have come control themselves and have a great user experience they also need to retain some sort of recourse to an adviser.

Indeed, the future generation might be happy investing £100 or looking at Amazon for a credit card but when it comes to wealth planning and knowing what to do with an inheritance then they want to be directed. 

Technology will never replace the human contact; it will complement it by sitting in the background and providing a sleek experience – from initial onboarding to techniques to support ongoing engagement.
Technology can take some of the burden when it comes to cost to serve by making life easier and more automated and efficient. This provides a hygiene factor in that there will be less tolerance and patience going forward for onerous form filling and the like when people become accustomed to taking a photo of their passport and uploading it.

On an ongoing basis the technology can be leveraged to provide ongoing contact via push notifications, research, other content, letters and webinars, daily market updates as well as the investment matters.

This also means that wealth management can afford to look at other segments as well as increase the profitability of those already served by engaging with them more using technology and increasing share of wallet.

The technology is there to support and engage. It can help serve different segments more efficiently and having a UX that is tailored to the segment that it is for rather than a one size fits all.

Read Original Article Here