The third workshop run by Objectway and Compeer, regarding the report “Wealth Management Firm of 2025”, took a deeper dive into the current use of portals and mobile apps, client reporting and where improvements could be made.

There are many ways in which a firm can interact with a client, but not all are cost-effective or add value to the firm. Although a few firms are using technological interactions and reporting as a differentiator, in many interaction areas the quality is currently lacking and clients can simply leave or switch providers if their requirements are not met in the near future.

Use of mobile apps

Close to 50%f of the firms we surveyed has a mobile app, with the remainder having mobile friendly versions of their portal and in most cases these are essentially read-only. In the future, they could be used for suitability checks, onboarding, trading and secure messaging.

The firms have seen pressure from IFAs for them to have access to an app with all the information they need, rather than having to rely on an investment manager to get back to them, which can be time consuming. Firms liked also the idea of a financial planning app, that provides a picture of a client’s entire finances.

Face to face meeting will not be replaced

It was clear that if mobile apps are to be provided by all in the industry, they should not entirely replace the initial face to face meeting as these are often the best opportunity to start to build a relationship with a client. Virtual meetings are thought by some industries to be useful in the future, but wealth management firms are completely convinced by this view. If virtual meetings are to be used, firms need the assurance that if a client is to be sent a link for a meeting, the link must always work and the meeting well received or some clients may not give a firm a second chance.

Reporting and presentation tools

When discussing presentations to prospects, firms would like an interactive presentation tool to be available to investment managers.

Encouraging the use of such tools, can move them away from paper reporting and give the impression of good corporate responsibility by reducing the use of paper, thereby helping to sustain the planet.  This can only be positive, given responsible investing being a major topic in wealth management today.

Firms are aware that client reporting impacts the view of the client and so are looking for the suppliers with expertise in this area.

Read the full report to discover all the actions suggested and stay tuned for the next article!