While the customer needs change in the wealth management sector, the adoption of digital technologies has remained slow. A new generation of customers are now joining the market, and their needs are influenced by new technologies. Wealth managers need to provide faster and more convenient services with a digital experience in a more volatile and uncertain environment created by the Covid-19 pandemic. McKinsey states that wealth management firms can not overcome these challenges without digital transformation. This article explores 4 key digital technologies transforming the wealth management sector.

Our editor, Nathan Gore, spoke to Simon Bussy, Domain Director of Altus, about the benefits of AI/ML within the Wealth Management sector. What would be your brief outline of the benefits that AI/ML can bring to the Wealth Management sector? The successful firms will be those that demonstrate a willingness to collaborate with technology and recognise that AI – and in particular, machine learning – can help people make better, faster, cheaper decisions. In a world of smart-connectivity, AI is the key to harnessing the power of data, and to a long and sustainable future. While currently AI is being used for very specific wealth management tasks – hedge fund management, robotic stock pickers, 'robo' investment algorithms, client service chatbots, document analysis, RegTech support – increasingly AI will be used to augment business strategy and planning, using the power of data analytics and simulations to help provide answers to critical business questions.

Several months ago, we read a Facebook post about how the jobs that many people have today will not exist in ten years time. The post discussed topics ranging from anyone that worked in the transportation industry not having a job because all cars will be automated to many types of doctors not working because you will have a chip in your arm that will detect diseases before either the patient or a doctor could diagnose them today. It gave, in many respects, a very Draconian view of the world -- raising questions about how we employ people in a world where computers and machines can do things better, faster and cheaper than anyone else can do them. That got us thinking about the topic of this article, because the comparative number of Google results one receives upon searching "artificial intelligence" (AI) plus most other topics far outweigh the results regarding AI and the wealth management space. The scarcity of the commentary on this subject made us start thinking about how AI would impact the wealth management sector. In this article, we look at how certain areas of the wealth management sector may be affected by AI.

Several months ago, we read a Facebook post about how the jobs that many people have today will not exist in ten years' time. The post discussed topics ranging from anyone that worked in the transportation industry not having a job because all cars will be automated to many types of doctors not working because you will have a chip in your arm that will detect diseases before either the patient or a doctor could diagnose them today. It gave, in many respects, a very Draconian view of the world-- talking about how do we employ people in a world where the computers and the machines can do things better, faster and cheaper than anyone else can do them. That had us thinking about the topic of this article, because the comparative number of Google results one receives upon searching "artificial intelligence" (AI) plus most topics far outweigh the results regarding AI and the wealth management space. The scarcity of the commentary on this subject made us start thinking about how AI would impact the wealth management sector. In this article, we look at how certain areas of the wealth management sector may be affected by AI.