- European wealth managers are strategically investing in technologies such as artificial intelligence and behavioral analysis to develop internal data analytics teams that drive fund performance. Whether it is Man Group investing in data and technology, Schroders expanding its Data Insights team or Jupiter analyzing the behavioral biases of its fund managers, they all seek to give their fund managers an informational advantage over peers.
- IBM Wealth Management Solutions is helping financial firms leverage cognitive computing to improve client service, retention, and profitability. IBM Watson Client Insight for wealth management helps firms understand client behaviors and provides a data-driven approach to personalized financial advice.
- In May 2017, UBS partnered with BlackRock Solutions to provide UBS Financial Advisors and Home Office professionals with BlackRock’s Aladdin Risk for Wealth Management platform. This partnership will allow UBS to analyze portfolios with the same sophisticated risk and return analytics that BlackRock Solutions provides to its institutional clients.
- In January 2018, Interactive Brokers, an online trading platform, integrated with robo-advisor platform Emotomy. Emotomy’s platform helps advisors and investors streamline onboarding and transforms their investment decision-making, trading, reporting, and communications. Advisors can optimize their operations and focus on serving their clients with this platform.
- In 2017, Nasdaq Inc. acquired Sybenetix, a leading surveillance provider that combines behavioral analytics and cognitive computing with financial markets expertise. Sybenetix also provides institutional-quality risk management tools.
- Addepar, a leading provider of portfolio management and client reporting software to wealth management and asset management firms, recently raised $140 million in a Series D financing round co-led by Valor Equity Partners, 8VC, and QuantRes founder Harald Pike.
Wealth management has many traditional players who would benefit from embracing technological opportunities that will keep them in the game. Adopting a technology-focused strategy and investing in big data and analytics will help address changing client needs and enhance existing client relationships. Whatever the cultural and organizational differences, it is inevitable that tradition and technology will work together to improve wealth management.
Alexander Koles is the CEO / Founder / Managing Director of Evolve Capital Partners, a specialized investment bank focused on businesses that operate at the intersection of financial services and technology (FinTech). Koles has 14+ years of extensive advisory experience with private and public FinTech companies and global corporations.