The wealth management industry has undergone a radical transformation in recent decades, and it continues to evolve at a staggering rate. An increasingly demanding client base, ever more stringent regulations and margin pressures mean that today’s wealth managers must carefully balance the need to be leaner and more efficient while also continuing to provide the high-touch, personal service that is the industry’s USP.

The wealth management industry has undergone a radical transformation in recent decades, and it continues to evolve at a staggering rate. An increasingly demanding client base, ever more stringent regulations and margin pressures mean that today’s wealth managers must carefully balance the need to be leaner and more efficient while also continuing to provide the high-touch, personal service that is the industry’s USP.

Against this backdrop, wealth managers are increasingly coming to see enhanced technology as the foundation on which a future-proof proposition is built. Deeper client engagement, improved satisfaction levels and a larger share of wallet are what all firms are aiming for, and improvements to operations and technology will play a huge part in getting them there.

But “throwing money at the problem” is no longer an option as cost/income ratios are running very high almost across the board. Technology and operations investment needs to be smart, and change programmes need to really deliver - and that is the rationale behind this report.

WealthBriefing surveyed an international sample of chief technology officers, whose firms together represent over $1 trillion of assets under management and cover all the major wealth management markets. We are very grateful to them for taking the time to give such detailed information across such a wide range of categories and hope that the report proves to be a useful barometer to them.

In addition to those from Advent, executives from many other technology firms, consultancies and wealth managers helped to put the survey findings into context and their insights are greatly appreciated. Special thanks also go to business transformation consultant Ross Williamson, whose comments and input into the survey itself was invaluable.

To download the report please click here.