In the PwC survey, only 39 percent of clients were likely to recommend their current wealth managers, and recommendation levels fell to 23 percent among respondents with more than $10 million in investable assets.
PwC argues that traditional wealth managers can only survive if they accelerate their efforts to adopt technologies that integrate every aspect of their activities and corporate culture, from the back office to client services.
Brick-and-mortar financial advisors must also harness technology to streamline their practices, says PwC, and to draw on a wider range of data to demonstrate their value to clients.
The most successful wealth managers will partner with fintech innovators, says PwC, to deliver solutions to clients in real time.
Firms that successfully combine technology and human capital have the greatest opportunity, says PwC, while those who resist digital innovation will become less competitive over time.
PwC’s research was conducted in coordination with Wealth-X in late 2015 and 2016 through surveys of 1,010 high-net-worth individuals with at least $1 million in investable assets in Europe, North America and Asia. The surveys were followed-up with qualitative interviews with 100 client-facing relationship managers at European, Asian, Middle Eastern, South American and North American wealth management firms.