If you are involved in the asset and wealth management industry, get ready for big changes over the next decade. A recent global survey of more than 450 senior executives in asset and wealth management revealed that most expect digital transformation to create partial-to-full disruption of the industry within the next ten years. Conducted by CREATE-Research and commissioned by Dassault Systèmes, the survey also showed that early adopters of digital platforms and tools report gains in competitive advantage and improved customer experience.

Highlights of survey findings include:

• Digitization is accelerating in response to growing cost pressures, the rising importance of fees and charges as differentiators, the rise of low-cost passive funds, the market entry of fintech and internet giants, and a new generation of digitally-savvy investors.
• 54 % of asset managers have adopted social media tools, while 56 % of wealth managers have adopted new digital platforms; blockchain is the least implemented of eight digital tools cited.
• 80 % of asset managers and 77 % of wealth managers expect digitization to partially or fully disrupt their industry within ten years.
• The majority of those surveyed envision a competitive landscape of alliances with external disruptors or the development of proprietary platforms; only a minority expects external disruptors to carve out niches.
• Early adopters report reduced operating costs, stronger market position, higher efficiencies, improved regulatory compliance and better client experience.

The full survey results are detailed in a 32-page report, “Digitization of asset and wealth management: promise and pitfalls,” authored by Amin Rajan, CEO, CREATE-Research. He notes that, “The key driver of digitization in the years to come will be changing client behaviors, under which financial services will evolve from being supply-led to demand-led. This means that wealth management is at the dawn of a new transformation, more far reaching than anything experienced before. Digitization is not the first choice or the last choice; it is the only choice. The future belongs to those with a clear vision for their business in the digital age.”

Read the full report – and asses your readiness for a digitized future! Request your copy here.