02
Meeting the Needs of the Digitally and Socially Aware Generation
Whilst newer generations may be the largest catalyst for change, certainly many new and old investors are demanding more:
New generations expect a very different experience from their wealth managers. The diversifying priorities of previous generations when considering where they invest their money, how they wish to interact and what level of returns they expect to receive, all impact the considerations for future technology.
Wealth managers will consequently result in offering more “value added services” to these end clients to keep pace, whether it be the ability to view their portfolio on-demand digitally. These intuitive tools allow investors to make their own decisions as well as take advice from professionals, or the ability to invest in more “modern” investment types such as cryptocurrency or real estate markets.
In addition, the social element of investing has gained tremendous traction amongst this generation, with investors assigning greater value to the ethical responsibility of their investments and the tangible impact of their investments on the world, Issues such as a business's impact on society, the environment, and how transparent and accountable an investor is, are now being considered when constructing an investment portfolio. This is consequently putting increasing pressure on wealth managers to provide this level of granularity in their portfolio’s asset allocation and, subsequently, their reporting.'
Key Question 1.“Does the system offer me flexibility in my operations, boththrough ease of integration into my ecosystem, as well astailoring the client experience?”
Finally, we are conscious of the convenience factor now expected through comparison of other digital experiences provided by big-tech companies. Combining this with an on-average, low-level financial awareness, Wealth Managers that can communicate complexity, simply and ubiquitously to match the investors' lifestyle and integrate into their points of reference, will be in the strongest position to capitalise on the great transition.
Given the above, when considering your choices in technology for the future, the “interoperability” of your investment technology has never been under more pressure than today.
Core operational systems need to have an open architecture to aid data exchange with the latest technologies that digitalise wealth management for the younger generation, as well as integrate multiple sources of data such as ESG metrics.
Key Question 2.“Can you integrate with the latest digital technology innovations and data providers via APIs, or is a flat-file-only integration, from your legacy system holding you back?”
