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Fastest Growing Data Management Trends For Wealth Managers
January 5, 2024 by Michael Mclaughlin
How will data redefine the playbook for wealth managers? As we’re witnessing a new generation of investors, heightened economic uncertainty, rising costs and dynamic shifts in wealth distribution, the pivotal focus is on how this shifting landscape intersects with data management.
Presently, data reigns supreme. Wealth management firms that utilize their data strategically see a transformative shift in their decision-making process and the ability to quickly adapt to these changing circumstances. This is unlikely to change.
Here are the key trends that we expect to impact data management in wealth management now and beyond.
What Are The Future Trends In Data Management?
We’ve narrowed it down to six data management trends that need to be on wealth managers’ agendas.
Trend 1: More AI and One Platform Solutions
Artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) and other advanced technologies like natural language processing (NLP) will continue to play a key role in data management, analysis and reporting. The wider adoption of intelligent automation (IA) will also see more sophisticated end-to-end analytics and insights to guide investment decisions and support tailored customer experiences.
These technologies also allow you to make better use of real-time data, enabling wealth managers to respond swiftly and accurately to market changes. The key thing to watch out for here will be the tools you’re using. Currently, many businesses house their data in multiple, disparate systems and use several tools to collect, store and analyze this data.
Soon, firms will start consolidating and moving towards a single platform with holistic AI capabilities and better data integration. Having a single unified platform will mean:
- Unified data access.
- Improved operational efficiency.
- Data quality improvements for consistency and accuracy.
- Scalability and integration.
Trend 2: Spotlight Client Experiences
The wealth industry is seeing the rise of a new client base. With this new generation of investors, attitudes and expectations of services are changing for the industry. According to Deloitte, this new generation includes Gen X and Gen Y investors and also baby boomers who’ve been influenced by their younger peers.
“The Baby Boomer generation is expected to leave a significant amount of money to their Millennial children. It's estimated that more than $68 trillion will be bequeathed to their offspring. The great wealth transfer is expected to make Millennials the richest generation in American history.”
At the center of this is digital technologies. Expectations are now spotlighted on creating rich digital experiences. Clients want to be able to access investment data and advice anywhere at any time, through their preferred channels and in a cohesive manner. Digital workers and automation will be critical here to ensure that wealth managers can deliver fast, seamless and personalized services against expectations, as they can:
- Analyze vast amounts of data to provide highly personalized insights.
- Work 24/7 to enable continuous services and interactions.
- Streamline routine tasks that result in faster service delivery.
- Build trust and credibility with clients through reliable and accurate task handling.
Trend 3: Employees Doing Less Manual Work
It’s not just clients; employee expectations are also shifting. Digital-first approaches to work will gain more popularity, especially using digital workers and automation to carry out manual, repetitive and resource-intensive data tasks. Wealth managers will then have more time to focus on higher-level priority tasks, such as delivering investment strategies and addressing client concerns.
Additionally, due to the complexity and volume of data, the industry will see a surge in the demand for software platforms to support smoother data management, with a preference for low-code/no-code tools.
The future of wealth data management work is looking more unified, with people augmented with digital workers to fully leverage data effectively. Here’s how:
|
Before |
In future |
|
Logging into multiple systems and manually pulling data. |
Data access is simplified and in one place with an intuitive user interface, forming a comprehensive data fabric for seamless management and accessibility. |
|
Spending time thinking about how to write several data queries to get the data you need. |
Using AI to help write SQL queries faster and more efficiently. |
|
Days compiling and personalizing client reports. |
One platform for easy access to data, reducing efforts for data extraction and movement to compile quick and personalized reports. |
Trend 4: Data Democratization
The emergence of the concepts of data mesh and data fabric has been a response to the challenges organizations are facing with the increasing volume of distributed, disconnected data. It relates to the one-platform solution trend.
- Data fabric: A data management architecture that uses intelligent automation to connect and integrate data stored in multiple places and formats—ensuring a cohesive and consistent view across an organization.
- Data mesh: Uses a decentralized approach that assigns ownership of data to teams or individuals to manage independently. It gives domain experts more control over their data.
Both data fabric and data mesh have gained traction as data management solutions as they make an organization’s data easier to access, find and use. It aims to empower organizations and their teams to extract useful insights from their data more efficiently and helps organizations cope with the ever-increasing complexity, diversity and volume of data.
Trend 5: Cloud-Native Technology
The adoption of cloud-native technologies for data management will continue to grow. This is because it provides organizations with a more flexible, scalable and cost-effective way to access and use their data—extremely beneficial as organizations can quickly adapt to changing data management regulations and requirements as and when they come.
Cloud-native technology also offers automation in many data management processes, reducing the need for manual, repetitive work from employees. Employees have more free time to focus on critical activities.
By 2025, Gartner estimates that over 95% of new digital workloads will be deployed on cloud-native platforms, up from 30% in 2021.
- Gartner
Trend 6: Enhanced Security and Compliance
With great power comes great responsibility. Ongoing trends will focus on maintaining strict compliance with regulatory standards, ensuring data privacy, data security, and adopting ethical data handling processes. Several data management platforms already offer governed access to data, so security functions will only continue to develop to protect against data breaches and more.
Software will be instrumental here in addressing regulatory demands with easy access to valuable advanced data analytics and maintaining data governance. This way, firms can respond to changing data requirements in hours not quarters, and with a single source of truth for all firm’s data analysis for next-level accuracy.
“Organizational mindsets have fully shifted toward treating data privacy, ethics and security as areas of required competency, driven by evolving regulatory expectations such as the Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act (VCDPA), General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA); increasing consumer awareness of their data rights; and the increasingly high stakes of security incidents.”
Prepare For the Future
It's time to say farewell to the complexities of data management and embrace a seamless, one-platform approach that securely integrates data from internal and external sources. This shift ensures you remain at the forefront of any industry changes.
SS&C Everywhere is your answer to access valuable insights quickly for confident decision-making in highly regulated environments, such as wealth and asset management. As a one-stop, cloud-based and AI-powered data management platform, SS&C Everywhere makes it easy for firms to access actionable data quickly, securely and accurately—wherever your data is stored.
Our single vendor and single stack service model ensures better management compared to multi-vendor third-party data lakes—perfectly built for highly regulated industries.
Learn more about the power of SS&C Everywhere.
Final Thoughts
The modern wealth manager is navigating a terrain of diverse trends. To sustain the delivery of exceptional client services, remaining informed, agile and leveraging the latest strategies is paramount—such as leveraging software.
Learn more about how SS&C Everywhere can help you unleash the power of your data today. Schedule a live demo or briefing with a member of our team.
Written by Michael Mclaughlin
VP Cloud Alliances
