Concierges of the digital age

Widespread use of technology in daily lives of investors has led them to believe in the importance of a wealth manager having strong technological proficiency. The investor’s expectation is not met well by the traditional Indian wealth managers. With more and more managers trying to cope with the new digital demand, very few have been successful in adapting to the below mentioned digital capabilities:

• Research potential of firms to invest in – Researching a potential wealth management firm involves downloading a lot of research papers and analysing them at the same time. It requires digital proficiency.
  
  
• Present research and education content – Proper presentation of one’s research is also very important. Educating the investor will make sense only if the presentation made is in line with the wealth manager’s line of thought.
  
  
• Search for latest investment products – With more and more people leaning towards newer investment products, a wealth manager has to be well versed with the latest investment options beforehand.
  
  
• Access Portfolio Information – Portfolio information is now-a-days sent and received online. Accessing this information seamlessly is very important for a wealth manager.
  
  
• Evaluate performance of portfolio – Evaluating portfolios can easily be done today using various digital tools. Many websites provide a detailed analysis and you can analyse one’s portfolio if you have the know-how.
  
  
• Use communication tools – Only 25% of wealth managers use digital communication tools above a phone or email. Being well versed with tech-savvy communication tools enables the manager to be available for their customer at all times.
   

Daily digital interactions between a wealth manager and his/her client cover a wide range of activities. These activities are undertaken to fulfil roles of informing the client, engaging them and ensuring that transactions are carried out smoothly by either the client or the manager himself:

• Informative capabilities – Informative capabilities include all activities related to procurement of information ranging from procuring research potential of firms, presenting and searching latest investment options.
  
  
• Engagement capabilities- Engagement capabilities make sure that the information obtained reaches the customer in time and is correctly interpreted by the investor. Activities like portfolio advice bring experts and investors on the same platform and use various communication tools to keep the customers engaged.
  
  
• Transacting – Transacting is the actual execution phase of the investor. Here the wealth manager helps an investor transfer funds between accounts and completes investment transactions.

Each of these roles can be fulfilled either in person or over a digital platform. 45% of the HNIs below the age of 45 years use digital means to perform all the above mentioned roles from obtaining information to carrying out a transaction and transferring money.

Benefits of Digital Concierges:

• Increase Productivity – Digital technology enables an investor to constantly monitor one’s portfolio position with minimal operational activities.
  
  
• Engagement Opportunities - Online portals help a company’s management to interact with investors and communicate their future plans. This enables the investors to attach themselves to the company and get a broader perspective.
  
  
• Contextual Market Insight – Preparing digital portfolios help one to get detailed information on one’s selected investment options. This enables one to avoid a clutter of unwanted information giving an investor only the information he is interest in.
  
  
• Proactive Alerts – Digital portals provide proactive alerts for major changes in market conditions and other alerts when something affects an investor’s wealth.
  
  
• Cost Efficiency– As most of the work happens on a digital portal, both time and money needed to visit a wealth manger are saved.
  
  
• Backup and Recovery – An important feature of digital services is that data entered is never lost. There are options of backup and recovery for every transaction that an investor executed during a lifetime of his investment if entered on a digital portal.
  
  
• Quick Deployment – With transfer of funds becoming so quick and easy, deployment of funds has become very easy. Quick movement of funds from one asset to the other, on the basis of online researches, gives the investor an additional edge helping him in taking higher risk decisions quickly.

All in all, learning about all the technological concierge services is not feasible for an investor. With the availability of numerous concierges in this digital era of wealth management, it is very important to invest your time in finding a worthy wealth manager, one who is well equipped with all the technological advancements, can uncover investment opportunities and can device a suitable strategy. Do not fret! As complicated as it sounds, digitalization makes all complex activates very simple to handle. All you need to do is concentrate on maximizing your wealth and leave the rest to experts who have their best interest in your growth.