The merging of economic, demographic and technological changes has completely altered the investment industry, resulting in major implications for wealth advisors. Globalization is creating more complications for investment advisors but also leading to more opportunities. With investors located around the world adopting virtual communication, advisors will have the chance to serve clients outside of their immediate areas. Another force is demographic change, specifically the rise of Millennials, who are expected to inherit $30-40 trillion over the next 15 years. With Millennials representing the future of the industry, it is essential that investment advisors shift toward digitization.
In 2017, ESI’ThoughtLab and Broadridge completed a landmark study on digital transformation in wealth management, surveying 1,503 investment providers globally in different sectors, including 250 wealth advisors. The study followed up on ESI ThoughtLab’s 2016 survey for Broadridge of 2,000 investors and 500 wealth firms worldwide.
From this research, we found that a significant minority of wealth advisors are not well prepared in many crucial areas of digitization. In order to maintain relevancy in such a fast-digitizing marketplace, wealth advisors will need to transform into a bionic, data-enabled, laser-focused on clients, holistic and 24/7 advisor. In order to help advisors achieve this level of success, this report outlines the necessary steps and potential actions they may take.
