Business with affluent customers appears to many banks to be a safe haven in the storm of market developments: steady portfolio income, low dependence on deposit income, and loyal customers who – according to popular opinion – do not have particularly high expectations of digitization. From our perspective, this perception is wrong. Worse still, while it has long been clear to all market participants in the broad private customer business that there is an urgent need for change, there is a deceptive calm in wealth management. While leading providers are consistently working on issues such as integrating technology into advisory processes or aligning investment strategy with sustainability, many other private banks have not yet sufficiently addressed the challenges ahead. To this end, fintechs are showing that classic private bank topics such as asset management can be offered in a way that is both visually appealing and efficient. The more such approaches become the norm, the more those that do not modernize will be left behind.
All in all, wealth management is subject to considerable pressure to change! The key here is to assess market developments and act quickly. Below you will find a selection of core trends that we have identified for you.
