Alpha FMC Benchmarking

Wealth Management: Challenges Overview

 

What are the Key Challenges in Wealth Management

  • Clients are changing: Wealth Managers face a challenge on two fronts. Firstly, retaining assets across generations, and secondly, upgrading propositions for digitally savvy investors with different service expectations
  • Advice and discretionary margins are pressured: Comfort in self-servicing, desire for new products (typically requiring less advice or discretion) and more retail friendly vehicles, is on the rise. The market for full discretion or advice appears at risk
  • Regulation creating opportunities and threats: Access to client financial data can make the advice process more efficient and reduce barriers to entry; in parallel, firms are under pressure to reduce fees and increase transparency
  • Competition is intensifying: The number of traditional firms working on new propositions is growing and “Digital Wealth Managers” (e.g. Scalable, Nutmeg) are reaching some scale
  • Internal factors hold back digital change: Although digital is seen as a key priority for the vast majority of Wealth Managers, there are many internal factors such as legacy technology, an inconsistent digital strategy and resistance to change that is holding back transformational change

How Alpha are Helping Clients:

We work across the entire digital lifecycle:

  • ‘Define’ (Creating Strategies for Digital), this includes developing a digital strategy, a digital maturity assessment or CX/business case development
  • ‘Design’ (Designing the Digital Business), including digital transformation programme design (e.g. Scaled Agile), Operating Model Design, Architecture Design
  • ‘Deliver’ (Bringing Digital Initiatives to Market), including MVP delivery, business readiness or Programme/project Orchestration

We also have links with third parties, vendors and partners when specialism is required, including detailed UX design, cyber security design or development of brand and creative approaches.

Alpha’s Expertise

We have deep Asset & Wealth management experience in UK, Europe, Asia & US: Alpha is the leading global asset management consultancy, having worked with 85 of the top 100 global asset managers and all major service providers. We have supported client experience & op model implementations across Europe, the US and Asia, developing an unrivalled understanding in this space.

We have the ability to draw on digital expertise inside and outside the industry: we know how digital works inside an Asset Manager and can draw on the relevant inspiration from outside the sector. In doing this we can deploy the relevant elements within our client’s business which can create a significant shift in the client experience.

Alpha can draw on digital transformation blueprints for rapid mobilisation: we are able to bring a mix of specific experience with similar clients and with industry best practice in the areas of client experience design and operating models. This prior work will enable us to mobilise quickly and highlight candidate MVPs. In doing this we connect business to technology.

We can leverage past experience in leading large transformation programmes: Alpha has supported leading Asset Managers on many relevant transformation initiatives, such as client persona work, Target Operating Model and Sales Enablement. This allows us to accelerate our mobilisation and understand linkages between your digital priorities and current capabilities.

We have an engagement model which promotes collaboration, cost efficiency and knowledge transfer: our blended team engagement model is fast to deploy and works well within your team, 3rd parties and governance structures. It allows knowledge transfer and can be more cost effective. Alpha can bring models, frameworks and approaches which can aid this. This will allow our clients to be self-sufficient in the future.