The tools to deliver visibility and engagement are key for advisers to best serve clients.
“Getting a view of the client’s situation and needs on a 360-degree basis is crucial. Having a dynamic and aggregated view, being able to then engage and have a rich conversation around actionable insight, is now rapidly becoming a standard expectation from clients. The engagement used to be face-to-face, but this inevitably means a time lag. Using digital tools on a high frequency means that the adviser can be proactive, in the moment, and this leads to quality and depth in the relationship,” said Edward Turner, Client Adviser, Dreyfus Bank.

He warned, however, that the method of engagement needs to be appropriate to the content. “Sending ten emails probably means that a phone call would be more appropriate. And a phone call is not appropriate when the adviser is trying to orchestrate collaboration with other experts such as tax planners or lawyers – here the need is for video conference,” he said.

Roland von Horn, Executive Director of Julius Baer, says: “It is important to know the customer’s needs and offer customised solutions. Wealth management clients, for example, are interested in research information. Depending on customer needs, this can be offered several times a day or only monthly on the digital channels of choice.”

Dr. David Kocher, Chief Customer Officer at Finfox, agreed: “For us, it is all about delivering what is useful for the client and making it accessible in the dimension of their choice. Both adviser and client need to have the same information at their fingertips, thus enabling co-browsing and empowering the adviser at the time of the interaction with the client.”

In this way, technology serves as a retainer – by empowering the adviser to delight and retain the client.
Meanwhile, Thomas Roth, CTO at Crealogix, says that technology is a crucial contributor to retention. “Everyone talks about net new assets as well as minimising asset attrition. Technology can make a whole world of difference. Suppose you provide the rights tools, service, and experience; it leads to lower attrition levels in terms of both clients and assets – this means that wealth managers can play the defensive game of retention as well as the offensive one of engagement,” he said.

And engaging means being proactive in contacting the client and measuring whether they are reacting to what is sent. 
Turner said that any client collaboration hub needs to be able to provide feedback to the adviser in terms of tracking client activity and thus measuring what is and is not useful. “All of that is currently super static, and it needs to evolve to give adviser the ability to hone the service.”

Roth agreed, saying that leveraging data for continuous improvement in terms of service and relevance means that the adviser can evolve with the client. “The wealth manager needs to ensure that data on customers is consistently and seamlessly shared across technology platforms in the front office (e.g., CRM, digital marketing systems, omni-channel engagement solutions, product platforms, contract management). Sending out nudges to act on an investment suggestion or getting clients to take a look at new developments in their portfolio. Bringing adviser capabilities in a fun and interactive way to a discussion brings a positive user experience and, thus, engagement with the client.”

Of course, for the adviser themselves, there is also an efficiency play in intelligent technology use—the more that can be automated, the more time the adviser has to engage with the client.
Kocher commented: “Sending orders through a system, getting rid of all the admin and then all the repetitive tasks too; these are the things that take too much time and keep the adviser from focusing on their more important tasks. We do not just want to get faster and cut costs. We want to be able to deliver relevant content that is tailor-made and adds real value for the client. That way, we can strengthen the relationship and increase the assets, and that is where the satisfaction comes in for both adviser and client.”

Technology also needs to support the provision of the product itself. This is something that has come to the fore recently with market volatility and interest in new alternate asset classes.
Roth said: “Asset classes in private markets, e.g., ‘fractional ownership of everything’, P2P lending, pre-IPO investing – all of them have in common traits that they need the right mechanisms to bring together supply, demand and thus price discovery and transparency on a technology platform.”

Turner added: “The adviser needs to be able to distribute and package this sort of thing via a platform that is engaging, dynamic and, importantly, liquid, and therefore accurately priced.”

He also pointed to the need to have a proper take on ESG. “Sustainability is a huge topic, particularly for next-gen investors. But we think that 90% of current offerings are just greenwashing, which does not work if the aim is to build long-term trust rather than just sell products. 

Data privacy, too, is a crucial tool to have in the armoury. 
Von Horn points out that for customers, security, especially data security, is paramount. Customers sometimes ask when general data leaks become known in the press from other industries.

Ultimately for the adviser, the role of technology is to provide the adviser with the time to service the client through efficiency and the means to supercharge that service through the ability to push the right thing to the right client at the right time and place – thus building trust, engagement, and retention. 
Kocher summarised: “A good client experience is key. It has to be state of the art and be modern and fresh, but the game changer is making a memorable moment, or touch point with the client where the added value is visible. If tech can get the tedious things out of the way, then sometimes that is enough. But suppose the tech is helping the adviser to get beyond that, building a complete picture of the wealth situation of the client and providing the right information at the right time. In that case, that is a massive bonus for the client experience and leads to trusted, lasting relationships.

This article is a write-up from The Wealth Mosaic’s Swiss WealthTech Live Event 2022 to launch the Swiss WealthTech Landscape Report 2022. You can access the full report here.