Summary Paper: WealthTech Matters - The Client 2024

THE CLIENT

A summary of our recent one-day event which took place in London, and brought together COOs, CTOs, and CIOs from top wealth management firms and private banks to discuss the various technology solutions to address strategic challenges facing their businesses, with a specific focus in this instance on leveraging technology to improve client servicing.

• Feeling the margin squeeze – how to thrive in a cost-cutting environment

• Automate to elevate – how to scale whilst lowering operating costs and improving client experience

• Balancing act – unlocking productivity to deliver an improved client experience

• Get closer – facilitating more robust client engagement with technology

• Personal effects – harnessing Artificial Intelligence (AI) to fuel the human experience

• Data driven – how to evidence value with a ‘less is more’ approach

• Excellent report – enhanced reporting solutions to meet evolving client needs

• Quality service – how technology can help gather expectations-driven insight

Introduction

The WealthTech Matters event series is an annual celebration of the wealth management industry and its technological developments. The series sees The Wealth Mosaic collaborate with Owen James to create events that address the year’s industry trends involving the adviser, the client, and business operations as a whole.

This WealthTech Matters event, held in London in March 2024, focused on the various technology solutions that address strategic challenges facing Wealth Management, with a specific emphasis on client servicing. The topic formed the core theme to a series of roundtables held under Chatham House rules. The sessions set out the core issues wealth management firms currently face, and how technology can have a transformative effect in the way firms engage with, service, attract and retain clients to drive greater AUM.

The initial roundtable – feeling the margin squeeze – saw event attendees discuss the issue of how to thrive in a cost-cutting environment. This session, led by Milan Patel, Global Head of Sales Engineering at FA Solutions and facilitated by Blaise Cardozo, Director at Davies - Consulting Division, looked at various ways firms can alleviate the ongoing margin pressures they are facing.

The second roundtable – automate to elevate – saw the discussion shift, as participants shared views on how to scale, whilst aiming to simultaneously lower operating costs and elevate customer experience. The session was led by Nigel Armstrong, Head of Wealth and Asset Management Solutions at SS&C Blue Prism, and facilitated by Blaise Cardozo, Director at Davies - Consulting Division.

Improving customer experience is a crucial first step on the digital journey and serves to retain clients. However, the need to invest in the future growth of the business by lowering operating costs is just as important. The session explored how to balance technology investments while keeping operating costs low. No mean feat in the context of the current market.

The following roundtable – balancing act – looked at how firms can, are, and need to do more when it comes to unlocking productivity to deliver an improved client experience.

This session, led by David Hinton, Chief Operating Officer, at SEI, and facilitated by Gilly Green, Board Advisor and Management Consultant at FoxRed Insight, looked at the various routes to better productivity, which have the potential to drive an enhanced client-experience.

Hot on the heels of the roundtable that examined the balancing act needed to drive productivity AND deliver outstanding client experience, event participants took a closer look at how they needed to get closer to their clients, driving greater client engagement and long-term brand stickiness with technology.

This session, led by Hakan Kocabeyoglu, EVP of Product at Unblu and facilitated by Karl Cranswick, Director at Solve Partners, looked at how technology use can bring better levels of client engagement in wealth management. Deeper levels of client engagement within wealth management promote customer loyalty, potentially increase both share of wallet and the likelihood of customers making positive recommendations to their network. But how can technology be used to facilitate this? A topic this roundtable discussed in some detail.

Of course, no event of this nature would be complete without discussion of the opportunities afforded by the application of AI, so the following roundtable discussions centred on what the group called personal effects. In other words, how to capture and leverage the power of AI to fuel the ‘human experience’ in the touchpoints between adviser and client.

This session, led by Elemi Atigolo, Managing Partner at Consult Venture Partners / Phil Carden, Product Director at SS&C, and facilitated by Paul Miles, Founder at Silverback Consulting, looked at various ways that AI can be used to add to the client experience.

With firms across the industry still drowning in data – sitting in existing or legacy systems, or a combination of the two across multiple of siloed applications – much energy was devoted to a roundtable that looked at the use of data to drive informed, effective decisions, with consideration being given to a ‘less is more’ approach. The argument being that there is no lack of data in the industry today, rather, the question is more how to use (and how to better use) data already available to deliver measurable value.

This session, led by Elemi Atigolo, Managing Partner at Consult Venture Partners, and facilitated by Caroline Burkhart, Director of Wealth Management Consulting, Alpha FMC, looked at how AI can best be leveraged within wealth management.

The final two roundtables looked at aspects that are also key to advisers and clients alike. In the first instance, reporting, and how technology solutions can be developed and better leveraged to meet the ever-evolving needs of ever-demanding clients (and the differing client segments).

This session, led by Mina Patel, Client Reporting Consultant at FSL, and facilitated by Caroline Burkhart, Director of Wealth Management Consulting, Alpha FMC, looked at commonly found issues with reporting, a topic under scrutiny by clients and wealth managers alike, given the need for dynamic and frequent reporting.

Last, but by no means least, the group reflected collectively on the level of service being delivered to clients via technology, with consideration again being given to how technology can be used to gather expectations-driven insights, to in turn deliver relevant recommendations and services to clients.

This session, led by Caroline Clarkson-Lund, Chief Operating Officer at VouchedFor and facilitated by Brod Whiting, Director of JoyndUp, discussed best practice for collecting client feedback.

WealthTech Matters - The Client, March 2024 Scene Setter

Our scene-setter questionnaire was completed by the event’s attendees. The questionnaire is designed to provide a finger on the pulse of what the community is thinking including the areas that represent the biggest concerns to executives in the industry, the most significant opportunities they see ahead (including productivity gains), and how they perceive the latest regulatory issues.

Key data points

The bullish rating stands at 7.3 out of 10 out of 7.3 10

analysis

Strengths Weaknesses

Calm and resilience in the face of market volatility

Quick decision making

Being proactive

Improvements in technology adoption

Having energised, talented, and qualified staff

Efficiency, productivity, diversity

Low levels of client confidence in markets

Failure to keep pace with, and integrate, new technology, and poor data quality

Opportunities Threats

Attracting new clients

The expanding marketplace for wealth services, and M&A

Attracting technologicallysavvy employees with the ‘right ideas’

Growth and flexibility via digitization

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Automation to increase efficiency, productivity and improve customer experience

Employee retention

Capacity planning in line with growth

Regulatory interventions and market volatility eroding market confidence

Productivity issues

Respondents scored themselves a 6.5 out of 10 on the efficiency front

On average only 28% of an adviser’s time was spent on ‘golden/value-add’ client engagement time.

Barriers to productivity*

Front-office productivity

Client load ratio is too high or wrong (4.14)

Communication (3.29)

How do relationship managers spend their time?

Preparing for meetings

Holding meetings

Researching and monitoring existing clients – life events

Researching and monitoring existing clients – investments out of 6.5 10

Enablers

of productivity*

Regulation (2.86)

Disjointed and inconsistent processes (2.29)

New application technologies (2.43) Organic growth (2.14)

Straight through processes (STP) (2.14)

Back-office productivity

Communication (3.57)

Disjointed and inconsistent processes (3.14)

Regulation (2.71)

Outdated or lack of technology (2.29)

Client engagement – significant tools

Better technology to power the client experience

86%

Investing in technology to better equip advisers (as they are the ‘face’ of the company in the clients’ eyes)

64%

Enhanced campaign management tools

29%

Broadening the investment offering

23%

Next generation – client retention

Have a strategy in place

State it is a work in progress

Have yet to act

Technology –spend is shared between solutions targeted primarily at:

Advisers

Barriers to success

Scope creep: 92% of CEOs

64% of WealthTech COOs

Legacy systems and technical debt:

83% of CEOs

57% of WealthTech COOs

The impact of Consumer Duty

Reassessing the business model and fee structures

More training and education for advisers

Higher regulatory costs and burden

*Weighting – where respondents ranked a range of options from 1-5.

Lack of clear objectives and requirements: 83% from CEOs

57% WealthTech COOs

Strategic challenges Scene setter summary

How bullish are you about the year ahead?

The bullish rating stands at 7.3 out of 10. This figure has stayed at 7.3 or 7.4 for the past two years. Sentiment is consistent.

What’s keeping you up at night on a business level?

Respondents ranked a list of challenges in order of importance.

Innovation, productivity, and sourcing new clients score highest on the list of priorities, as opposed to geopolitics and the state of the economy which were the top concern in late 2024. Issues around regulatory change are clearly becoming more prevalent, and reducing costs scores highly as an issue of concern too. Another issue making its way up the list is finding and keeping the right people, which has been an issue on the agenda for some time now.

SWOT analysis

Top strengths included calm and resilience in the face of market volatility, quick decision making, the ability to be proactive and improvements in technology adoption also scored highly. Having energised, talented, and qualified staff was also cited as a strength, in contrast with the previous question around strategic challenges. Weaknesses were around efficiency, productivity, diversity, and low levels of client confidence in markets. Failure to keep pace with, and integrate, new technology, and poor data quality were also cited. There are, however, plenty of opportunities around attracting new clients and the expanding marketplace for wealth services, and M&A. Attracting technologically-savvy employees with the ‘right ideas’ was also mentioned. Technology wise, growth and flexibility via digitisation, AI, and automation to increase efficiency, productivity and improve customer experience were all on the list. Threats, meanwhile, included staff leaving, and capacity planning in line with growth, as well as regulatory interventions and market volatility eroding market confidence.

Challenges from a technology perspective

Respondents ranked challenges out of six. The weighted responses showed that achieving operational scalability and innovating whilst maintaining business as usual were top of mind at 4.33 and 3.83 respectively. Data management, at 3.33, is always high up the list but regulatory change is rising up the leader board at 2.17, which is in keeping with its rise on the strategic challenges listing.

Productivity and profitability

Respondents scored themselves a 6.5 out of 10 on the efficiency front but on average only 28% of an adviser’s time was spent on ‘golden/value-add’ client engagement time.

How do relationship managers spend their time?

Just over half (55%) of adviser time was spent on preparing for meetings (13%), holding meetings (16%), researching and monitoring existing clients – life events (12%), and researching and monitoring existing clients – investments (14%). All these activities could be helped by AI, with the potential to free up nearly a third of a relationship manager’s time.

Barriers

Barriers to productivity

Front-office productivity issues were related to the client load ratio being too high or wrong, communication, regulation, and disjointed and inconsistent processes.

Back-office productivity issues were around communication, disjointed and inconsistent processes regulation, and outdated or lack of technology.

Enablers of productivity

New application technologies such as CRM or suitability, came top, followed by straight through processing. Growth, both organic and inorganic, also featured highly.

Client engagement

Respondents stated they were considering or in fact implementing a range of enhancements to improve their firm’s levels of client engagement and grow revenue. Better technology to power the client experience was considered as significant by 86%. And investing in technology to better equip advisers was cited as significant by 64%. Enhanced campaign management tools were cited as significant by 29% and broadening the investment offering by 23%. Giving clients what they want product wise and carefully managing the relationship for a better client experience is clearly seen as the way forward.

Next generation – client retention

68% have a strategy in place and 25% state it is a work in progress. Only 8% have yet to act. When it came to the nuts and bolts of strategy to retain assets, responses included holding an annual flagship event for next generation ages 18-23, engaging with the family for financial wellbeing, launching separate estate planning arm, and providing a Family Office structure to advise all elements of the family.

The impact of Consumer Duty

• Reassessing our business model and fee structures: 75%

• More training and education for our advisers: 67%

• Higher regulatory costs and burden: 50%

When asked what they would do if they were in charge of regulation for a day, responses ranged however more guidance and consistency, and cost reduction were both featured. Disclosure, price capping and Consumer Duty were also areas recommended for change…but no specific reasons were given, nor remedies suggested.

Technology

Technology spend is shared between clients (35%) and advisers (38%). 27% was spent on ‘other’. Client communications, remote client engagement/video conferencing, Teams/Zoom meetings data portals, new client portal APIs, data management and integration technology, and AI were all cited as worthy of investment.

When it came to barriers to success with technology implementation, 92% of CEOs and 64% of WealthTech COOs cited scope creep. Legacy systems and technical debt were cited by 83% and 57% respectively. Lack of clear objectives and requirements scored 83% and 57% respectively. Setting out the aims and reach of a project at the start and the extent to which legacy systems are retained is clearly a worthwhile exercise.

Roundtable summaries

• Feeling the margin squeeze - How to thrive in a cost-cutting environment

• Automate to elevate - How to scale whilst lowering operating costs and heightening customer experience

• Balancing act - Unlocking productivity to deliver an improved client experience

• Get closer - Facilitating more robust client engagement with technology

• Personal effects - Harnessing AI to fuel the human experience

• Data driven - How to evidence value with a ‘less is more’ approach

• Excellent Report - Enhanced reporting solutions to meet evolving client needs

• Quality service - How technology can help gather expectations-driven insight

Feeling the margin squeeze

How to thrive in a cost-cutting environment

This session, led by Milan Patel, Global Head of Sales Engineering at FA Solutions and facilitated by Blaise Cardozo, Director at Davies - Consulting Division, looked at ways to alleviate margin pressures.

The need to thrive and grow while also spending less due to margin pressure has been well documented within the wealth management industry. The role of technology in handling increased operational costs and reducing fees while improving client services is well debated.

Participants discussed their own experiences, including margin squeeze, risks around major technology bets, change management needs, and client portal expectations. Other issues raised include integration challenges, the importance of APIs, a lack of internal expertise, and de-risking projects.

Solution providers are well equipped to deal with many of these concerns. After all, it was noted that solution configuration, service delivery models, de-risking projects, time to value, and flexibility are their areas of specialism and expertise. In that respect, all participants acknowledged the importance of the wealth manager being able to define what is strategically important and, therefore, in need of customisation, solution-wise, as opposed to those functions that can be approached with an out-ofthe-box approach.

Participants also noted the need for a particular emphasis on change management and the need to have efficient and configurable systems and solutions. A modular ecosystem approach was thought to lean itself best to that end, with innovations like AI, tokenised assets, and private markets all needing to be covered from the perspective of infrastructure needs, impacts on operating models, and interoperability considerations. The benefits of SaaS models, proof of concept, and considerations around core system flexibility were also discussed.

Key findings

The role of technology in handling increased operational costs and reducing fees while improving client services is very current

Solution providers are well equipped to deal with many of these concerns

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Specific concerns include risks around major technology bets, change management needs, and client portal expectations. Other issues include integration challenges, the importance of APIs, a lack of internal expertise, and de-risking projects.

There is a need for a particular emphasis on change management and the need to have efficient and configurable systems and solutions

New areas needing consideration include covering infrastructure needs, impacts on operating models, and interoperability considerations

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Automate to elevate

How to scale whilst lowering operating costs and heightening customer experience

This session, led by Nigel Armstrong, Head of Wealth and Asset Management Solutions at SS&C Blue Prism, and facilitated by Blaise Cardozo, Director at Davies - Consulting Division, looked at whether it is possible to scale while also reducing operating costs and improving on customer experience.

Indeed, improving customer experience is a crucial first step on the digital journey and serves to retain clients. However, the need to invest in the future growth of the business by lowering operating costs is just as important. Happily, digitally automating manual activity across a business can lower costs by up to 70% and bring productivity gains, which leads to more time to improve customer experience.

The session began by looking at case uses for automation in financial services, including users such as pension providers, wealth managers, and investment research teams. Key processes cited as ripe for automation include client onboarding, data collection, compliance checks, report generation, and responding to queries.

But before an automation process is started, the need is first to devote some time to understanding existing processes and where they fall down. Process mining tools, it was thought, can be a great help with this because they can highlight inefficiencies and areas with high levels of manual intervention.

It was noted that in isolation, a two-minute manual process does not seem onerous, but when it is done at scale or required over multiple systems, it soon becomes significantly time-consuming. For example, one single process could end up with 50 different tasks and be handled by four different people before it being completed. If that is scaled, it becomes a problem. Thus, automation efforts should focus on scalable growth rather than just automating individual tasks. This requires assessing processes across the business to determine feasibility and projected cost savings from automation. In turn, this enables a more innovative approach where the foundations of automation are in place to support productivity and growth.

Finally, the participants acknowledged that it is impossible to automate 100% and that those processes that still require human intervention could be subject to discussion about best practices and optimisation.

In this context, it should be far easier to reframe the talk about how to scale and increase productivity and customer experience by taking the processes that are acting as inhibitors and improving them, making for productivity gains, lowering the cost to serve, and freeing up time to focus on customer experience.

Key findings

Processes that lend themselves to automation include client onboarding, data collection, compliance checks, report generation, and responding to queries.

The focus should be on scalable growth across a firm rather than just automating individal tasks.

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Before automating, the need is first to understand how and where processes fail. Process mining tools can help with this.

Taking the processes that are acting as inhibitors and improving them makes for productivity gains, lowers the cost to serve, and frees up time to focus on customer experience.

Unlocking productivity to deliver an improved client experience Balancing act

This session, led by David Hinton, Chief Operating Officer, at SEI, and facilitated by Gilly Green, Board Advisor and Management Consultant at FoxRed Insight, looked at the various routes to better productivity.

Productivity is a key challenge within the wealth management industry and a subject often under discussion. Self-reported firm productivity scores averaged 6 out of 10 overall, with the front-office at 5-7 and back-office at 4-7 out of 10. Relationship managers’ ‘golden time’ averages 43% of time spent advising clients rather than administrative tasks. There is clearly room for improvement.

However, although firms are experimenting, they have yet to fully implement specific innovation and productivity projects. It was thought important to analyse the root causes of a firm’s productivity issues using a practical framework that would help shape and optimise future projects before diving in.

Key pain points that are obvious and that could be improved, however, include the need to customise client journeys, automate back-office processes, address data issues, change adviser incentives, understand cultural barriers to change, and build confidence in AI.

Such improvement, however, is a multi-faceted process that relies on several components, such as having the right technology in place and clean and high-quality data to feed into processes and systems. Indeed, many firms have problems with data accuracy and efficacy. Participants acknowledged and discussed the criticality of getting data right from the start.

Data is all the more important when introducing AI. Without high-quality data to input, any AI output will be sub-optimal. Although AI pilots are promising on tasks like suitability letters, firms still need to train tools properly and build confidence and experience over time.

The Cloud was also discussed, with firms aware of the benefits of Cloud use when it comes to analytical capability, but also the need to balance data privacy and security challenges.

Cultural change is also needed to ensure that advisers and other workforce members are upskilled and supported in using new technologies or processes that impact their book of clients and revenue. Lack of technology itself was not thought to be the root cause of productivity issues; complexity of products/services and firm culture play a bigger role and advisers at some firms have resisted new digital client options post-COVID. However, cultural change is something that can be hard to do with highly paid veteran advisers who are often incentivised in a way that no longer fits modern business objectives. One participant spoke about using a 3:1 adviser-to-relationship manager ratio, automated reporting, data analytics, and incentive structures to achieve high technology adoption rates.

Key findings

Although firms are experimenting, they are yet to fully implement specific innovation and productivity projects

AI pilots are showing promise on tasks like suitability letters, but firms still need to train their tools properly and thus build confidence and experience over time

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Key pain points that could be improved include customising client journeys, automating backoffice processes, addressing data issues, changing adviser incentives, understanding cultural barriers to change, and building confidence in AI

Cultural change is also needed to make sure that advisers and other members of the workforce are upskilled and supported in using new technologies

Facilitating stronger client engagement with technology Get closer

This session, led by Hakan Kocabeyoglu, EVP of Product at Unblu and facilitated by Karl Cranswick, Director at Solve Partners, looks at how technology use can bring better levels of client engagement in wealth management.

Deeper levels of client engagement within wealth management promote customer loyalty, potentially up share of wallet and increase the likelihood of customers making positive recommendations to their network. But how can technology be used to facilitate this?

Key technology tools that can be used include AI and other digital tools to enable more frequent, personalised and compliant client interactions while balancing human relationships. It was acknowledged that clients value convenient engagement frequency and channels and compliant messaging platforms aligned to clients’ preferences versus restrictive IT policies to drive adoption and facilitate this. Other digital tools like embedded messaging, voice and video can also facilitate outreach.

Participants discussed other ways to exceed client expectation by focusing on understanding clients’ preferred engagement methods, ensuring convenient but secure channels, and augmenting advisers’ capabilities to serve more clients and reduce administrative tasks adds significantly to satisfaction and engagement from clients.

The discussion then concluded with agreement on the need for authentic communication, scaling capacity through digitisation, and value-added assistance from technologies like AI rather than full replacement. Technology should build trust and understanding between advisers and clients. For example, AI chatbots can work to help the onboarding experience, as can adviser desktop assistants surfacing relevant information during client conversations. But both rely on human support.

Key findings

Deeper levels of client engagement within wealth management promote customer loyalty

Focusing on understanding clients’ preferred engagement methods, ensuring convenient but secure channels, and augmenting advisers’ capabilities significantly increases client satisfaction and engagement

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Key technology tools that can be used include AI and other digital tools to enable more frequent, personalised and compliant client interactions while balancing human relationships

Technology should build trust and understanding between advisers and clients rather than be a full replacement

Harnessing AI to fuel the human experience Personal effects

This session, led by Elemi Atigolo, Managing Partner at Consult Venture Partners / Phil Carden, Product Director at SS&C, and facilitated by Paul Miles, Founder at Silverback Consulting, looks at various ways that AI can add to the client experience.

AI and hybrid model implementation to enhance client services and experiences is both common sense and complex. One key element to consider is advisers’ attitudes to change. Indeed, advisers often seem excited about the use of AI for productivity gains, better file notes, communications and the like and some firms are piloting basic tools like Copilot, Otter and Avanti for meeting capture, email organisation and document creation. However, others are hesitant, citing data privacy and security amongst their concerns.

And despite interest, it was acknowledged that very few wealth management firms offer a fully hybrid service proposition. This is due to the cost and complexity of blending digital and human interactions, and offering choice is important; some client segments better suit hybrid models, but personalisation, efficiency, accessibility and human oversight remain vital.

To boost the use of AI, it was thought that wealth management firms need to properly evaluate AI capabilities in hybrid servicing as well as other areas where it can boost the overall offering; client personas, data quality, and staff skills are all potential value-add. But which are most valuable and achievable? Participants thought that key next steps include planning incremental changes focused on productivity and client experience gains.

Key findings

AI and hybrid model implementation to enhance client services and experiences is both common sense and complex

Despite interest, it was acknowledged that very few wealth management firms are offering a fully-hybrid service proposition

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Key next steps include planning incremental changes focused on productivity and client experience gains

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The attitude of advisers towards this change varies – some are concerned over data privacy and security while others are enthusiastic

To boost the use of AI, wealth management firms need to properly evaluate AI capabilities in hybrid servicing as well as other areas where it can boost the overall offering

Data driven

How

to

evidence value with a ‘less is more’ approach

This session, led by Elemi Atigolo, Managing Partner at Consult Venture Partners, and facilitated by Caroline Burkhart, Director of Wealth Management Consulting, Alpha FMC, looked at how AI can best be leveraged within wealth management.

AI and its use in improving adviser efficiency, supporting better use of client data, and capturing the content of meetings and other conversations is under scrutiny by many, if not most, firms.

But no matter how powerful AI could be, it relies on the data that feeds it, and any AI system needs to be fed data of sufficiently high quality to make sure the end output is fit for purpose. ‘Garbage in, garbage out’ is a well-known phrase for a reason. Other issues include regulatory constraints, technology adoption challenges, privacy concerns, and communication strategies.

Participants all recognised the need for experimentation with AI and talked about how they had done this within their own firm. They all cited data quality, tightly-controlled usage, narrow application in the test phase, and specialist skill requirements as barriers to broader implantation at this point in time. The difficulty in improving data and systems while lacking AI expertise and project clarity was also raised.

Clients’ reactions when it comes to recording conversations and other case uses for AI within their interactions with advisers were everything from complete indifference to concerns over privacy. Participants thought that clear communication of benefits, like better service quality, would allay concerns. Indeed, adviser efficiency improves when AI tools are used to help with real-time interactions versus post-meeting administrative work.

Participants were interested in looking at other sectors, such as health and consumer, where more advanced AI applications are already in situ and enabled by fewer regulations.

Ultimately, participants thought that successful AI and technology adoption requires focusing on specific use cases and outcomes, not just capability demonstrations. Communication, training and careful change management contribute by enabling incremental improvements balancing benefits and risks. Relevant metrics to measure adviser time savings from streamlined processes, increased client face time from technology assistance, data accuracy improvements from AI validation would also be valuable.

Key findings

AI and its use are under scrutiny

Clients’ reactions when it comes to recording conversations and other case uses for AI within their interactions with advisers were everything from complete indifference to concerns over privacy

Relevant metrics to measure adviser time savings from streamlined processes, increased client face time from technology assistance, and data accuracy improvements from AI validation would also be valuable 1 2 3 4 5

AI relies on the data that feeds it, and any AI system needs to be fed data that is of sufficiently high quality to make sure the end output is fit for purpose

Participants were interested in looking at other sectors, such as health and consumer, where more advanced AI application is already in situ, enabled by fewer regulations

Enhanced reporting solutions to meet evolving client needs Excellent report

This session, led by Mina Patel, Client Reporting Consultant at FSL, and facilitated by Caroline Burkhart, Director of Wealth Management Consulting, Alpha FMC, looked at commonly found issues with reporting.

Client reporting is under scrutiny by clients and wealth managers alike. Today’s need is for dynamic and frequent reporting supported by real-time access to a client’s portfolio.

Participants discussed common issues, including tax reporting, which focuses on account structures rather than client-level analysis. This means manual reconfiguration across different account types and investor tax year-ends is required. This operational overhead and the need to provide multiple reports for a single investor could be eased using consolidated analytics tools and integrated client transaction data.

Manually-intensive processes, lack of standardisation across providers, and poor readability for less financially-savvy investors all are causing issues when it comes to exceeding customer expectations. Participants see that providers use inconsistent formats and calculations for tax reporting as well as other statements like performance reports and annual valuations. This inevitably means there is a need for manual adjustments when sharing data across firms, indicating potential for industry standards.

The needs of the actual investors also need to be taken into account when it comes to reporting. With lower tax allowances, more investors will now file returns and require understandable explanations. Therefore, participants thought it wise to assess reporting for clarity, context, terminology, and financial literacy levels of new millennial and elderly investors.

They went on to discuss how technology solutions can help to remedy these, noting that customer web portals versus continued use of PDF reports was one relatively easy win. They also covered the value of consolidated reporting using client transaction data – something that is in high demand from investors. In addition, tighter partnerships with tax authorities could require reporting on the client data that is shared with revenue agencies. Thus, potentially, firms need to upgrade systems to capture required details like offshore income and excluded securities.

Key findings

A common issue is that tax reporting focuses on account structures rather than client-level analysis

Assessing reporting for clarity, context, terminology, and financial literacy levels of new millennial and elderly investors is a must

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Manually intensive processes, lack of standardisation across providers, and poor readability for less financially savvy investors are all causing issues

Consolidated reporting using client transaction data is in high demand from investors

Tighter partnerships with tax authorities could require reporting on the client data shared with revenue agencies

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Quality service

How technology can help gather expectations-driven insight

This session, led by Caroline Clarkson-Lund, Chief Operating Officer at VouchedFor and facilitated by Brod Whiting, Director of discussed best practice for collecting client feedback.

In the wake of the UK Consumer Duty Act collecting continuous client feedback has become a requirement for UK wealth management firms. Participants discussed how this can be done most effectively and whether there has yet emerged a best practice model for a robust feedback process.

Most participants already conduct periodic surveys, while some do post-transaction reviews or have client advisory boards. Key challenges raised included:

• Inconsistent processes

• Sur vey fatigue

• Difficulty getting honest responses

In addition, what to ask clients, measuring response rates across various channels and customer segments, and using insights to drive referrals and business growth were highlighted. The group highlighted the need for consistent automated processes, adviser buy-in, and firm culture embracing client feedback.

Participants acknowledged that feedback goes beyond surveys to include client advisory boards, software voting systems, and post-event reviews. Thus, given the multi-faceted nature of feedback, it is important for wealth management firms to position feedback requests to benefit clients, tailoring questions by client segment, monitoring feedback over time, and ensuring data accessibility to drive actions. It was thought that better feedback processes lead to more referrals and commercial opportunities; higher review scores are linked to increased prospect conversion rates. Identifying client needs and opportunities in feedback can also drive additional business growth.

Key findings

Collecting continuous client feedback has become a requirement for UK wealth management firms 1 2 3 4

Feedback goes beyond surveys to include client advisory boards, software voting systems, and postevent reviews

What to ask clients, measuring response rates across various channels and customer segments, and using insights to drive referrals and business growth were highlighted

Better feedback processes lead to more referrals and commercial opportunities – higher review scores are linked to increased prospect conversion rates

About WealthTech Matters

Owen James Events and The Wealth Mosaic have collaborated to create a series of triannual events for key decision makers from the private wealth industry.

Technology is core to the future wealth management model, but in an increasingly specialist technology environment, wealth managers must engage with a deeper knowledge and understanding of what technology is available and can deliver across the three main areas of their business: their clients, their advisers and staff and their business processes.

WealthTech Matters focuses on these three themes to help delegates discover and discuss the technology solutions that will solve the key challenges facing their business.

Read more about the WealthTech Matters event series here

About The Event Organisers

Owen James seeks to provide a platform for strategic engagement: an opportunity for key individuals to discuss and understand the business and investment issues which are affecting the whole of their industry. The end game is to enable firms to do better business - commercially, intelligently, and ethically.

Find out more at www.owenjamesevents.com

The Wealth Mosaic (TWM) is the definitive information and knowledge resource for the global wealth management industry. It is founded on a curated, online solution provider directory to close the knowledge gap between wealth management businesses worldwide, the growing technology marketplace, and related solution providers.

For wealth managers, the buy side of our marketplace, TWM is designed to enable discovery of key solutions, solution providers, and knowledge resources by specific business needs.

For solution providers (vendors), the sell side of our marketplace, TWM exists to support the positioning, exposure and business development needs of these firms in a more complex and demanding market. There is also a growing range of quality supporting content and thought leadership that firmly positions TWM as a market leader at the forefront of community trends and developments.

Find out more at www.thewealthmosaic.com

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