Despite all the hype about technological advancements, most wealth management professionals are still struggling with their internal systems with both quantitative and qualitative challenges.
Banks and wealth managers have made hefty investments in upgrading their technology in recent years. But despite the resources deployed, «this transformation is far from complete», according to a survey by Avaloq.
«Many firms are still grappling with how to handle their back-end legacy systems, while at the same time making good progress with new, cloud-native applications,» the report noted.
Too Poor, Too Many
While 44 percent of respondents claim that systems are designed according to their needs, 45 percent say that they are outdated. 58 percent said that navigation was unclear or unintuitive. 51 percent claim that there are too many unnecessary functionalities while 42 percent say that the technology does not have all the functions they need.
Even the sheer quantity of systems is an issue. 54 percent of respondents say that they need to use too many systems or applications to complete a task. 50 percent work with four to six systems while 14 percent use 10 to 15. 41 percent added that it takes too long to learn how to use their applications.
Streamline and Optimize
According to Avaloq, there is a «clear opportunity» for firms to further streamline and optimize their front-office and investment tools and systems. There is also a need to consolidate and integrate tech platforms while using a unified data model and offering a good user experience. This can ensure data integrity and consistency, reduce operational efficiencies and enhance overall service quality.
The survey was conducted in February and March 2023 with 200 wealth management professionals in six markets – the UK, Switzerland, Germany, Singapore, Japan and Hong Kong.
