Etienne Van den Bogaert of Prosperity Financial Services looks at the role and potential future of technology in the wealth management space in Asia.

Date: Mar 2012

Tags: Technology, Financial planning

• With the growth in wealth management in Asia, there are various opportunities for technology companies – for example in terms of client education
• Compliance is now a key part of the industry, given that new rules are making it increasingly burdensome for banks and advisers to do their jobs
• Since many client advisers in Asia lack experience, using technology is a win-win-win for clients, wealth managers and the institutions

With the growth in wealth management in Asia, there are various opportunities for technology companies, said Etienne Van den Bogaert in an interview.

With a lot of money coming into the region and much of the wealth still being first generation, there is a significant requirement for client education – to ensure people invest according to their needs, objectives and risk profiles, he explained.

In terms of the market, there is a lot of growth in the middle classes – for example from Singapore to Taiwan to Malaysia, he added.

Role of technology in Asian wealth management

According to Van den Bogaert, compliance is now a key part of the industry, given that new rules are making it increasingly burdensome for banks and advisers to do their jobs.

While he said this is understandable from the point of view of the recent financial crises, it presents a big challenge.

As a result, Van den Bogaert said he has a solution which eases the burden by making it more straightforward to convey a clear and easy-to-understand message to the client, and in a way which is compliant.

In addition, since many client advisers in Asia lack experience, using technology is a win-win-win for clients, wealth managers and the institutions, he explained.

For example, when a firm wants to launch a new product, they need to make sure an adviser understands a new product in terms of its features and how to sell it in the correct way, he said.

Van den Bogaert said that this is where an online tool can make the training easier to do, as well as convey the message correctly.

Technology evolution

According to Van den Bogaert, he said tablets will be a forthcoming trend in wealth management.

In this space, he said there is a big opportunity for wealth managers – who travel a lot – to meet with clients at any time to talk with them in detail about their portfolio.

Given the security aspect to consider, in terms of logging onto the platform, Van den Bogaert said authentication is a key part of any solution.