In the modern era, the financial world has taken an increasingly technological and innovative turn. Within the private banking and wealth management industry, this evolution has created new demands, such as the call for technology that facilitates more immediate, timely communication between clients and managers from different areas, e.g. investment managers and relationship managers. This is just one example of how modern technology is propelling the industry forward.

Navigating the technological frontier

At the beginning of the year, Forrester published a trends report highlighting the key emerging technologies in wealth management in 2023, based on the type of innovation that they will bring to the market.

From a general perspective, a significant fact to point out is that two-thirds of business and technology professionals in wealth management firms are increasing their spending on emerging technologies and want to maintain a high level of technology aimed at improving business operations.

Cloud-native computing has primarily captured the attention of Wealth Management Firms, carrying key benefits in terms of better systems to help investors and financial advisors make more effective decisions when firms adopt the building blocks of cloud-native and implement modern cross-cloud and hybrid-cloud architectures.

Next in line is Explainable AI, which can create verification and monitoring models and provide investors with an explanation of the rationale behind any investment recommendation. Transparency in the understanding of how financial advice is derived from AI-based systems is crucial for wider investor acceptance and trust.

In the same vein, but with a different application, the technology of Intelligent Agents is helping asset management firms increase efficiency and reduce operating costs. Chatbots, for example, use conversational AI to help firms divert calls away from the contact center, this way allowing employees to focus on more value-added interactions.

The use of these technologies leads to some innovative wealth management activities, like Hyper-personalised Customer Experience with Machine Learning, allowing a whole set of huge data to be merged, creating a customer-oriented database. Decision makers will be able to exploit this data set to make better choices, with increasingly accurate simulations and forecasts.

By exploiting this system, winning companies will be able to propose increasingly accurate investment ideas based on customer behavior.

After this implementation using Machine Learning, Automation Fabric is a broad category of technologies that combine the building blocks of AI – e.g. computer vision, text analysis and machine learning – with software platforms such as robotic and digital process automation. This technology is implemented in Wealth Management companies with the use of OCR, facilitating the completion of tax forms, financial statements and other administrative documents.

Moreover, as investors are increasingly demanding sustainable investment solutions, Asset Management Firms are combining the different capabilities of these technologies to produce Sustainability ratings and ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) analyses. Using ESG data analysis tools, ratings and insights, asset management companies can offer their clients an innovative real-time view of their sustainable investments by setting sustainability benchmarks. In addition, advisors will have a screening tool to differentiate and identify the values of each individual investor.

Emerging technologies in wealth management are undoubtedly offering new opportunities for investors and financial advisors. As we navigate 2023 and beyond, we can expect to see further advancements in these technologies, creating a more efficient, seamless wealth management experience. It is therefore essential for businesses and individuals in the industry to keep up with these trends to stay ahead of the curve and reap the benefits of these game-changing technologies.