The 8th Annual Digital Integration in Wealth Management Conference in London talked about the digital customer journey and this led to conversations on omnichannel. Umar Zaman, head of strategy, BNY Mellon’s Pershing EMEA, focused on this in his speech about omnichannel across wealth management.

Zaman started by asking the room who had successfully implemented a multichannel strategy. A few hands were raised, but even less when they were asked about delivering an omnichannel strategy.

He said: “Omnichannel is about a seamless integrated journey. The technology is out there, however, bringing it together is really hard. Firms need to work on some foundational elements before developing solutions.”

“Why is omnichannel important?” he asked. “Wealth is about the investor and their experience with firms. However, many of those experiences are with individuals and that is how trust is built.

“Over time, the demand from clients for more information has increased. Clients are demanding more from wealth firms. If you can get this right, you can have better engagement with your client, which leads to better retention.”

Why have we not achieved omnichannel yet?

Omnichannel looks to solve many problems that private banks have with engagement, so why has the sector not cracked it yet?

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Company Profile – free sample

Thank you!

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

By GlobalData
Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.

Zaman stated: “The two key factors are the technology factor and the human factor.”

With regards to technology, it comes down to legacy systems and infrastructure. These are older systems and silos that are hard to change and connected to so many different parts of the firm.

In addition, data has been collected through various applications at firms and this is hard to unpick because these applications do not talk to each other.

In terms of human factor, Zaman explained: “Change is hard and some people do not like it. I would not say the industry is full of change leaders.”

He concluded: “My suggestion to firms is take the solution off the table and start with fundamentals.

“The more channels you open the more vulnerable you are, so have the right people at the table to get through that part of the journey. You need to have the right skillsets involved.”

For more events, click here.