At SEI’s recent Executive Symposium, senior executives from wealth management firms came together to discuss challenges and opportunities facing the industry via informative sessions led by industry speakers. The sessions highlighted the emergence of a new business model focused on reallocating resources and pursuing strategic partnerships in an effort to enhance overall end client experience.
Speakers at the event included Peter Keen, professor, Technical University of Delft, Netherlands who explored the benefits of pursuing alternative sourcing strategies in line with transforming business models. Professor Keen shared his views around transformation, which begins with coordinating many process clusters from back office to research, right through to client services. Professor Keen’s discussion is based on the hypothesis that value creation and the ownership and branding of customer experience by wealth managers will be crucial to meet the needs of tomorrow’s customers.
Also speaking at the event was Chris Cummings, director general, Association of Independent Financial Advisers (AIFA), who discussed the response of wealth management organisations to the changing regulatory landscape. Cummings highlighted the fact that recent initiatives like the RDR (Retail Distribution Review) and TCF (Treating Customers Fairly) were also key contributors to driving transformation in the industry.
Presenting the SEI view and summarising the views of speakers was, Joseph P. Ujobai, executive vice president, Private Banking at SEI, who stated that business models would change as the role of the relationship manager evolved from simply managing client investments to providing comprehensive wealth management. Product-driven business models will need to transform to a more advice-driven approach.
“Current wealth market dynamics are presenting compelling opportunities. However, without a change to the underlying business model, institutions will struggle to make the most of these opportunities. We can help them through our Global Wealth Services, which is designed to offer a comprehensive suite of services to help wealth management organisations capitalise on their strategic objectives of revenue growth, risk management and reallocation of resources towards client-facing activities,” says Ujobai.