With clients increasingly expecting complementary services around their traditional banking relationships, such as online access and detailed, custom-tailored client reporting, private banks and wealth management firms in Asia must make sure that their client touch-points are aligned with these expectations.
Date: Apr 20, 2012
Tags: Technology, Software, Mobile, Client Experience, Suitability, Regulation
With clients increasingly expecting complementary services around their traditional banking relationships, such as online access and detailed, custom-tailored client reporting, private banks and wealth management firms in Asia must make sure that their client touch-points are aligned with these expectations.
This is easier said than done. From client profiling, to identifying the right asset allocation, to investing and trading client portfolios, to presenting portfolios online, to client reporting – private banks need to link each of these services and components to integrated systems. This is made even more difficult by the cross-jurisdictional aspect of the business.
These were some of the main views and concerns at two recent roundtables in Hong Kong and Singapore – hosted by Hubbis in partnership with by Assentis Technologies, Information Mosaic and MSG – with some of the most senior technology and operations practitioners in Asian private banking and wealth management.
Why the right client experience matters
In short, technology is key in helping advisers to keep up-to-date with the various regulatory requirements in terms of the information they need to provide to their clients, said practitioners.
Even if this goes further than what current regulations allow, it enables advisers to service clients in a way that differentiates them and puts them ahead of the competition because they’re giving advice at a higher level.
The desire of Asian clients to be in the driving seat when it comes to making decisions about their portfolios, means they want the ability to log on directly and access their account details and other information quickly.
This is especially the case in markets like mainland China, for example, where the functionality and flexibility that local banks need to service their clients need requires the institutions to be able to pick and choose different software and solutions to create the whole suite.
For instance, the gambling mentality of many wealthy individuals in Asia means the local banks must develop functionality and interfaces which enable them to go online to place their orders, and view and access their portfolios on their own, so that they feel in control.
This influences the decision-making processes in terms of choosing the technology and software required.
A more general consideration for many private bankers is that there is still a belief in the need to have a very strong relationship between the client and the adviser, so those banks want to ensure their platforms don’t substitute this relationship.
It is also important to repackage information when providing it through internet or mobile channels. Choosing the right colours for the particular audience is an important consideration as part of this. For example, red is a good colour for Chinese clients, whereas in many other countries and cultures it has negative connotations in relation to financial markets.
A lot of thought is also needed as to the functionality in terms of the user experience and what aspects like charts should look like.
Going mobile
Another way of using technology to meet the needs of Chinese clients in the mainland is to use mobile phone SMS to encourage product sales. Given that most people use this way of communicating it is important to incorporate this as a marketing and sales tool.
A challenge related to the use of mobile and internet technology more broadly is the fact that there is a regulatory black-hole when it comes to determining those products which institutions should be showing on their website, how they can qualify from a suitability perspective, and to what extent they can really push a particular product versus another.
The online and mobile channels are still more relevant at the lower end of private banking market in places like Hong Kong and Singapore, agreed IT experts. For clients more towards the UHNW segment, they still prefer to pick up the phone or meet with their advisers to talk directly.
Tailored content
In terms of client-specific content online, the next stage of development in communication would enable clients to be able to customise the information they see and how it gets displayed, as well as how they receive that information. This is moving more towards a dashboard-style approach.
There is also the possibility that banks can use data and other information which is relevant to an individual client as a sales tool, to know which additional information to make available to an individual client online, for example depending on their investments and areas of interest, according to their existing profiles.
This can also be effective, especially in the mass affluent segment, to keep clients loyal to the organisation rather than to the relationship manager (RM).
Client stickiness can be improved by having systems which leverage off existing data. For example, based on what certain clients are buying, advisers can repackage this information as a service to clients as a value-add.
Finding the right balance
E-channels can also be used to bring the client and adviser closer together through a more efficient communication method. Further, it can be used to address regulatory concerns such as over hold mail.
However, practitioners said that it is important to understand how clients’ expectations are changing in terms of what they want and need from their banking relationships.
While clients use online and mobile tools for news and research, discussions and decisions around product suitability and deal structuring is still done on the phone or in person with an adviser.
IT expert raised an interesting question about whether banks trust their RMs, or instead they trust the rules set in the system in terms of which products are suitable for different types of clients.
There isn’t a straight answer to this, agreed practitioners. For the more experienced and capable client advisers, the institution can rely more on them to sell the right products to the right clients, based on the correct criteria. However, not all RMs are as clear about the full product range available to each client.
It is about finding a balance and ensuring collaboration between the human and technological aspects to the role of providing client advice and the right experience.
More technology and systems-related content
Click here for more content on the various technology and systems topics in Asian wealth management and private banking – via videos and articles
Click here to read our Special Report on Technology and Systems Solutions in Asian Wealth Management
