Investors are prepared to dump their wealth managers if they fail to embrace new technology, suggests recently published research.
The survey, conducted by investment tech provider Avaloq, found that investors trust the wealth managers that are able to incorporate technology into their offering.
Two-thirds (67%) of respondents stated that the ability to see their investment analytics and portoflio visualisaiton were crucial to building trust withtheir advisers.
However, despite the finding, wealth managers are still reluctant or unable to use investment advisory tools with clients, stating that the tools are not suited to clients' needs and too confusing.
This disparity is more acute when looking at the UK where almost three quarters (72%) of investors note the importance of portfolio visualisation but only 50% of wealth managers use investment tech with their clients.
The survey uncovered a number of tech-related pain points for wealth managers including a lack of integration between system, the inability to hide sensitive information and the difficulty of navigating systems.
“Our research reveals that while wealth managers are under increasing pressure from clients to incorporate technology into their offering, many are struggling to keep up due to complex, outdated and poorly integrated technology systems," said Suman Rao, UK managing director at Avaloq.
"Despite this, their reliance on technology is growing by the day and demand from clients is only going to increase. If wealth managers want to remain competitive and ensure they are delivering top client service, they must have a well-functioning technology ecosystem.
"That said, the responsibility is not all on the wealth manager, technology providers must also step up to ensure they are delivering the analytics, automation and visualization needed by both wealth managers and their clients.”
The survey featured 3,000 investors and 300 wealth managers across Europe, Asia and the Middle East.