Investing in client proposition and client experience is a key part of this. Simonetta Rigo, the chief client officer at Rathbones, is surprised this is not more widely accepted across the industry.

“No one really questions it in other industries,” she told thewealthnet at Objectway’s recent client conference.

Clients expect digital immediacy these days in all aspects of their lives and their banking and wealth management requirements are no different.

The wealth management industry has not always had a reputation for being particularly technology forward, but this should not impact how firms invest in these solutions.

Alberto Cuccu, the chief operating officer at Objectway, suggested the “bar for digital is set not by our industry but in people’s everyday applications,” meaning firms should not solely compare their digital solutions to those of other wealth firms.

Rathbones is keen to “scale like a platform, style like a brand”, to help achieve its objectives, Ms Rigo said.

The hope is doing this successfully will harness both the best of technology and its ability to support scale but also the personal touch that is so important to wealth managers.

Within the UK wealth management industry, competition is only increasing as more and more firms offer a greater range of services and look to onboard a similar client base.

This means firms are having to “work hard” to achieve their growth ambitions and to differentiate themselves from their peers. At the same time, Ms Rigo noted, regulators have “also raised the bar”, creating even greater need for these solutions.

In terms of undergoing a digital transformation, knowing where to start can be a challenge. For Rathbones, its combination with Investec Wealth and Investment UK proved a useful catalyst as there was substantial work needed to fully integrate the two businesses.

As a technology partner, Objectway was involved in this process, drawing on its experience of M&A projects across the industry. For example, the firm worked with UBS and Credit Suisse in Luxembourg during their merger, with Luxembourg becoming the first country to go live as a single platform following the merger.

“You learn from the experience,” Mr Cuccu acknowledged.

One key learning from this experience is that the migration strategy “needs to be set right from the beginning”, with Mr Cuccu stressing the need to focus on the impact a migration might have on clients.

Setting a strategy sounds like a simple task but, like most aspects of wealth management, it can prove harder due to balancing the needs of various stakeholders.

Speaking from her experience of combining Rathbones and Investec, Ms Rigo believes it is important to “find the path that is in sync with the rest of the business.”

Doing this can help win internal hearts and minds, which is “very important”, and get the wider employee base on side to support any changes that will come.

This is true of advisers and relationship managers too, as they have an important role to play when it comes to supporting clients through a transformation.

Advisers can “really shield clients” from any operational complexity that might arise in the short term, ensuring their experience remains smooth.

Interestingly, it is not just internal staff than can fear change. Ms Rigo noted clients also tend not to like change, even if it results in something better, because they get very used to functionality.

Understandably, they want to know “what’s in it for them”, and will adapt if they are taken on the journey with the firm.

Ms Rigo speaks from a position of strength here, noting that a year on from migrating to a single platform, Rathbones has “come a long way” and clients have largely adapted.

One thing is clear with any digital transformation project. You cannot approach it as “simply an IT project,” Mr Cuccu stressed. Rather, the client needs to remain at the centre of every decision.

He is adamant you “cannot have digital transformation without the customer view.”

Many firms believe they have already achieved this as client relationships are so key to any wealth manager. However, “client facing does not mean client centric,” Ms Rigo argued, suggesting some of the industry get this wrong.

Even firms that manage a transformation process successfully and for the genuine benefit of clients cannot afford to be complacent. The technology is continually evolving and the bar for what a client expects keeps rising.

At the same time, the client base and their needs are developing, leading to a continual process of learning and growing with their clients for successful firms.

“If you think you know your customer, think again,” Ms Rigo concluded.