Wealth management, one of the most traditional practices within the finance industry, is starting to see real change in the face of emerging technologies.

Right now, every industry is becoming increasingly focused on achieving customer-centricity and hyper-personalisation, enabling them to provide tailored, one-to-one customer or client experiences. Wealth management is no exception. Given the practice’s emphasis on relationship management and understanding the needs of one’s client, digital personalisation will provide a heightened sense of trust and understanding between portfolio manager and client.

The importance of education and mindset changes:

In times of uncertainty, it is even more important for clients to feel as though their concerns are understood, their needs met and their expectations exceeded. As such, leaders in wealth management must educate advisors and clients on the potential opportunity presented by artificial intelligence (AI). Given the practice’s historic reliance on the advisor-client (Knezevic & Teelucksingh, 2017) relationship, ensuring clients are comfortable with the role that AI will play in the managing of their wealth is important. Advisors too must be willing to integrate AI solutions into their portfolio construction and management approaches, rather than viewing emerging technologies as a threat that will result in the relinquishing of control. A shift in mindset is crucial.

The role of AI in managing risk:

The ability of AI to monitor and provide an overview of the risk profile in a given portfolio is one of the key areas in which technology can assist wealth managers. By detecting risk at an earlier stage than a human advisor may be able to, AI is able to aid portfolio managers in adjusting positions so as to mitigate risk in a timely manner. Beyond this however, robo-advisors are also able to make adjustments by using algorithmic logic to make investment decisions and changes. These advisors base their decisions on both recognized strategies (Friedberg, 2020), market fluctuations and client specificities (Deloitte, 2016). Highlighting the benefits of Robo-advisors in wealth management, Deloitte has spoken of their ability to ease the burden of decision-making on humans, and notably, see returns on investment regardless of one’s level of expertise in the industry (Deloitte, 2016).

The role of AI in personalisation:

The point at which predictive analytics meets hyper-personalisation provides firms with the ability to make wealth management even more personal than it historically has been. Firms use the former so as to conduct analyses into clients’ behaviour (Skovron, 2020), both personal and financial, so as to devise investment strategies that align with client preferences as closely as possible. Of great importance to high net-worth individuals (HNWIs) is access to the bespoke – investment advice being no exception. As is necessary to highlight in all instances of AI’s transformative potential, the place of traditional wealth managers is not threatened despite the entrants of the likes of robo-advisors – it is a combination of both emerging technologies and experienced advisors that will result in the highest quality of advice, tailored more specifically to clients’ needs and risk appetite (Skovron, 2020).

At Brainpool.ai, we can aid your understanding of the current landscape and identify where AI can be integrated into your existing processes. Our expertise in the role of hyper-personalisation places us in good stead to help you meet the current needs of both your clients and your firm. Our network of over 400 experts in the field are also well placed to address your concerns and ensure your transformative path into the future of finance is as seamless as possible.

Written by Anja