How to stay competitive and meet new client expectations is the wealth manager's perennial challenge.
A new report released this week by Thomson Reuters in collaboration with Forbes Insights says that in order to be successful, wealth managers must develop strategies to engage with clients who increasingly are digital natives.
Also, they must decide which technologies will make them more effective and which do not merit the investment to master and deploy.
The report is based on a survey Forbes Insights conducted in the fourth quarter of 200 wealth managers, 30% of whom were based in North America, 30% in Asia/Pacific and 40% in Europe. All executives polled were directly involved in wealth management and worked for a broad range of firms, the majority with at least $10 billion in assets under management.
Sixty-eight percent of wealth managers surveyed said learning about and keeping up with new technology was their No. 1 challenge, and 69% said they were concerned about staying relevant to a younger generation of investors.
Four out of 10 respondents said advanced analytics and cognitive technologies would have the greatest influence on the wealth management industry over the next three years.
Only 27% of survey participants reported that they had and were satisfied with their mobile platform, even though they believed this was the digital capability that clients valued most.
The most technologically advanced advisors in the U.S. rely on several principles when deciding which technology to implement, according to one tech entrepreneur and marketing consultant.