Going digital

Digital technology is reshaping wealth management around the globe, according to a Strategy& survey that appeared in our Global Wealth Management Outlook 2014–2015. Interestingly, however, wealth managers in the Middle East, while generally confirming the importance of digital technologies, did so with less conviction and sense of urgency than their Asian, European, and North American counterparts. This is despite the fact that a digital approach is critical to fulfilling wealth managers’ stated priorities for 2014–2015: to better understand customer needs, generate customer centric holistic advice and deliver a superior customer experience. According to our survey, 50 percent of private bankers in North America put digital technology at the top of the agenda, as did 35 percent of Asian private bankers. In the US, the large national brokerages offer a full spectrum of services, while wirehouses use digital technologies to profile and segment customers for targeted product and service offerings. Discount