Throughout our lives, we accumulate experiences and memories, as well as possessions, savings, properties, and material goods. In other words, we build a personal wealth (regardless if it is small or large), which can grow, lose value, or disappear. For this reason, it becomes important to consider a wealth management service.
Wealth Management
This term is used for the service that seeks to accompany, advise and make recommendations to clients in order to meet life goals through the proper management of their financial resources. It offers personalized solutions for the particular needs of each client.
Like many industries, Wealth Management is having a radical transformation not only due to the nature of the market, but also due to this pandemic; Covid-19 also has a direct impact, as it came to change and evolve several things: the demands of investors and the need for the industry itself to accelerate its digitization. Companies that continue to improve their digital offerings will earn a place to compete in the marketplace, while those that don’t will become obsolete.
According to the study “Wealth and Asset Management 2022: The Path to Digital Leadership”, conducted by Roubini ThoughtLab, investors around the world seek to manage their money in the same way that they buy, socialize, communicate and learn today: through a variety of digital tools, social networks, and mobile applications. The study indicates the increase in interest and expectations of investors to acquire services that are not only based on technology, but also offer a perfect user experience.
We can see then, that in this industry and around the world, the message is clear: digital leadership is crucial to prosper and survive for the next five years. Like me, senior industry executives agree that digitization is essential to being successful in a market. Today, 96% of CEOs perceive digital transformation as critical to their businesses and see it as a way to improve performance, drive revenue growth, and improve decision making. Undoubtedly, digitization is an opportunity to innovate, generate and create new business opportunities.
The formula to achieve it
The road is not easy and not everyone advances at the same pace due to various factors, however, I believe that there are basic criteria that can help to get there faster. According to a study by Roubini Thoughtlab, here are some points that I consider most important:
First, have a leader with a digital vision who is clear about where his company should go; 2. Align technology with business objectives and growth plans to create value inside and outside the company; 3. Put together a clear digital transformation plan, identifying where they are and where they want to go, as well as establishing a methodology to get there; 4. Without a doubt, fostering a culture of innovation, promoting change from the inside and what it entails for the benefit of the company at every level; 5. Early adoption of advanced technology, take advantage of data and analysis that help you generate value, have tracking systems that identify emerging technologies, and finally, 6. Have a trained digital team with the necessary technological experience at all levels, people who understand both the technology and the business model.
In addition, as Yaela Shamberg (Co-Founder and CPO, InvestCloud) also mentions and I fully agree withand would dare to add other points that should not be lost of sight on the path to advance in this digital evolution and be successful:
Provide financial well-being as the main focus. Given the high levels of uncertainty brought by the pandemic and its effect on the global economy, clients are more than ready to receive support throughout their financial lives, so the advisor-client relationship must be strengthened through of digital channels. With a strong relationship and digital tools, clients can measure their plan progress, set goals, organize important life documents, and see their complete financial picture.
Digital hyperpersonalization to customers. It will be essential in these times, as it must begin to take advantage of real-time data to provide relevant content, products and services. This is where artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) comes in, as they will be more necessary than ever to improve efficiency, productivity and build deeper relationships with customers, helping to fulfill that optimal digital experience.
Hybrid advice. Investors want a combination of self-service, fluid, flexible, and real-time tools, along with the value of having access to human advisors. The pandemic and financial market uncertainty changed investor perceptions, and many still need some level of human interaction, especially when it comes to complex financial decisions.
Overall, I daresay that the Wealth Management industry will be successful this year in providing advice beyond the realm of investing. It will do so by using the power of AI and ML to better understand customers, without losing sight of the personal touch through a flexible and intuitive platform. In addition, the pandemic will continue to widen the divide between winning companies that are ready to explore different paths of innovation and those that continue to be two steps behind, which costs them a lot in this new normal.
You have to decide which side of the coin do you want to be on, but above all, what must be done not only to achieve it, but to do it successfully. The road is long and challenging, but I believe that with passion and persistence it can be achieved. We must not give up, if we fall, we get up, we learn and we follow the path. It is the only way to succeed.
