The financial industry, especially as it pertains to wealth management, is typically static in terms of the consistency of advice and products being offered and delivered. However, as the global economy continues to experience historic fluctuations amidst the backdrop of new regulations aimed at calming volatile markets, new profiles of the traditional investor are also emerging.
People are living longer than ever before so investments need to last longer than ever before. To disrupt wealth management trends even further, enter the millennials – the youngest and newest demographic now seeking financial advice.
Analysts across the board are navigating through some notable new trends in the industry this year that are significantly impacting how they manage wealth.
Changing of the guard
As millennials start to control more wealth, advisory mandates and inheritance portfolios are changing hands from the old to the new. As this new wealth transfer is underway, financial analysts have to strategize to find new asset management tools and client strategies that are more centered toward the digitally inclined hands-on generation.
“It’s an enterprising demographic that grew up with instant Internet access so researching and finding information autonomously feels natural for them,” said Chris Lean, investment director, Aisa International. “They’re more accustomed to speed, market volatility, and streamlined instant access when it comes to their investments than generations before them.”
Although these idealistic young investors also prefer human interaction with advisors when they are ready to make an investment decision, they rely on robo-advising (non-human financial analytics) and virtual assistants (VAs) while doing research on their own.
They will typically seek more than one opinion, sometimes several, before inking an agreement with one advisor. Asset managers who are not embracing, adapting, and implementing processes that cater to millennials could be edged out – especially if they’re not responsive enough to their young clients’ needs.
More retirees than ever before
As people are living longer, the length of time retirees on a fixed income need their money managed is also increasing. This added demand requires more time and attention that advisors have to give to investors who fear market uncertainty, outliving their assets, rising cost of healthcare, and inflation curbing down their standard of living.
Add to that retirement planning – thousands of boomers who are either at or approaching retirement age are seeking financial advice to set up their investments and secure a fixed-income lifestyle they are comfortable with.
“We are setting short-term and long-term financial goals using complex analytics to go beyond traditional retirement products to provide assurance to clients that their investments are in good hands,” Lean said. “This demographic, in particular, requires a holistic, goals-based, performance-oriented plan aimed at achieving clients’ objectives within agreed timeframes.”
21st-century technology is changing the landscape
In addition to bots programmed with analytical financial algorithms and instantaneous information delivered to the desktop, other technology is also working its way into the wealth management sphere.
Tools such as robo-advising, VA self-help tools, apps offering clients a do-it-yourself quantitative analysis, as well as instant access to any global market, have led to the emergence of the retail investor.
“The balance for advisors is between facilitating these digital performance tools and virtual performance reports with direct interactions with clients so there is still a highly customized relationship that suits individual needs and still provides a personalized experience,” Lean said.
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The views expressed in this article are not to be construed as personal advice. You should contact a qualified and ideally regulated adviser in order to obtain up-to-date personal advice with regard to your own personal circumstances. If you do not then you are acting under your own authority and deemed “execution only”. The author does not accept any liability for people acting without personalised advice, who base a decision on views expressed in this generic article. Where this article is dated then it is based on legislation as of the date. Legislation changes but articles are rarely updated, although sometimes a new article is written; so, please check for later articles or changes in legislation on official government websites, as this article should not be relied on in isolation.
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