Using tech to bridge the wealth personalization gap

“Don’t say you’re not going to show them how the markets are doing, because they’re just going to go somewhere else,” Shamberg says.

The need for information cuts across different client segments. Among the firms InvestCloud works with, Shamberg says there’s an appetite for education among companies who want to support their people with wellness and financial education, as well as advisors working with mass-affluent families who want to be informed on different topics. For firms, the power of content-based engagement will depend on their ability to meet clients based on their stage of life, and adapt to their changing needs.

Being to walk alongside clients on their wealth-building journey will be especially important for some firms wanting to future-proof their business. According to Cerulli Associates, as much as US$68 trillion could be transferred between generations over the next 25 years. That’s not to mention the so-called HENRYs – high earners who are not rich yet – who may be in particular need of professional guidance as they ascend to higher levels of wealth for the first time.

“The challenge for a lot of wealth managers will be how to provide the right level of digital tools for people to start engaging with them, but also in a scalable way that their business can support,” Shamberg says. “You can’t necessarily make 400 exceptions for clients that are in different places of their life. On the human resource side, there’s also the question of whether they even have the staff for it.”

Investment personalization presents another potential avenue for firms to explore. While the rise of robo advisors and DIY investing hasn’t been the existential threat to traditional wealth advisors that some claimed it would be even a half-decade ago, it did change the game by setting a higher expectation of choice and control among a younger generation of investors.