EXCLUSIVE: Maximising Client Conversion Rates - WealthBriefingAsia Summit In Singapore

Tom Burroughes

11 May 2015

Attracting a client to a wealth management firm is often as much about cultural sensitivity and understanding of very specific needs as it is about providing smart-looking investment offerings and digital channels, the WealthBriefingAsia Summit in Singapore heard recently.

Banks and other organisations need to focus on the two merits of likeability and competence if they are to succeed in bringing clients on board and turning them into loyal customers over the long term, the conference, held in April, heard. (For more detail on the event, see here.)

Figures from the wealth management sector in Asia addressed the topic “Maximising Client Conversion Rates – Multi-Disciplinary Strategies To Get Prospects Over The Line” at a conference held at the renowned Raffles Hotel in Singapore. Speakers were Reto Merazzi, general manager, Appway, APAC region; Mandeep Nalwa, CEO for Taurus Wealth Advisors; Damien Piper, sales director of smartKYC; Kimmis Pun, president, FPAS; and Steven Seow, head of wealth management for Mercer. The panel was chaired by Tom Burroughes, group editor, WealthBriefingAsia. Sponsors for the summit were Appway, Milltrust International, smartKYC, Vermillion, BVI Finance and the Financial Planning Association of Singapore. Supporting organisations were Standard & Poor’s MMD, ProFundCom and WealthBriefingAsia.

“Prospering in this business is about understanding the importance and impact of every interaction with the client. Just collecting mandatory regulatory data while onboarding a new client or prospect does not help you to understand the needs of a client. A narrow view on KYC does not help you to develop the relationship or establish trust,” Appway’s Merazzi said.

He observed that many organisations still take a "silo view" and approach towards the client instead of trying to be truly client-centric. “This approach generally means that interactions are not streamlined and sales opportunities are often missed,” he continued.

“ cases can take three days,” Piper continued.

Another topic Piper discussed was the use of third-party data services such as Google, LinkedIn and other networks in making checks on clients. There can be problems with a lack of public data in certain jurisdictions and sectors, however. For example, how does one check on a business owner in Indonesia if the RM doesn’t speak the language? He said an issue can be a lack of language skills among RMs in certain jurisdictions such as Singapore.

A big topic, he said, is integration of information sources, so that an RM can tap into sources quickly and effectively.

Kimmis Pun, of the Financial Planning Association of Singapore, described the approach firms should take towards new and prospective clients: a firm must have “the right mindset and it should not just be how to make money”.

Pun added: “Onboarding is a critical point of contact….if you get the right kind of targeted customer into the institution then that is important. The firm must have the right mindset to do proper KYC and develop processes and platforms that are tailor-made to fulfil the needs of a customer. Who is going to deliver these services? Support from product specialists is one of the more critical processes."

She also talked about the need to match RMs and clients by such measures as age, experience and cultural fit.

On the use of feedback data, she said: “We can use it for business development….and making it more tailor-made in measuring client expectations.”