According to data conducted by Avaloq, a digital banking solutions and wealth management technology company, wealth management clients globally face considerable wait times during the onboarding process.
In line with Avaloq’s research, even though the onboarding process is one of the key turning points in a client relationship, as it sets the tone for subsequent interactions, only 13% of wealth management experts say it takes them up to one week to onboard ultra-high net worth (UHNW) clients, while 29% of them state it takes them three months or longer.
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The survey’s findings indicate that the onboarding process usually takes longer for new clients who are more affluent.
However, even among the wealthy, one-third (33%) of wealth management experts claim that the onboarding process might take up to a month.
Wealth management professionals’ experiences vary between the UK and the other markets surveyed.
As shown in Avaloq research, asset management professionals in the United Kingdom consider onboarding tasks to be complex than their European counterparts.
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By GlobalDataIn particular, internal clearance processes were seen as an obstacle by 88% of UK respondents versus 76% in Europe, while manual intervention was identified as an inconvenience by 70% of UK respondents versus the European average of 62%.
This difference also appeared in the most laborious tasks: 70% of respondents from the UK said that know-your-client (KYC) checks take excessive time, compared to 63% from respondents from Europe, and 55% said that creating client accounts becomes prolonged, compared to 51% from Europe.
Moreover, when questioned what would help them in their current work, 96% of relationship managers worldwide said that simplifying or automating the onboarding process would make a modest or significant difference.
This points to a significant opportunity for technology suppliers to assist wealth management organisations with better onboarding capabilities.
Suman Rao, managing director for the UK and Ireland at Avaloq, stated: “The onboarding process leaves clients with a lasting impression of their new wealth manager, so it is vital that it runs smoothly. Not only does this set the tone for a positive client relationship, but it also increases the chances that the client is likely to stay and invest over the long term.”
“It is concerning to see that wealth managers face such hurdles when onboarding clients. Technology can transform the onboarding process by automating and streamlining regulatory checks while integrating consistent onboarding templates in the firm’s platform. By automating manual processes, wealth managers can focus more time and resources on providing better client service and gain a competitive advantage over their peers.”
