The survey was conducted online, with over 200 individuals from more than 130 financial institutions in North America and Latin America were invited to participate. Celent collected 26 completed surveys, 27% of which were from private and retail banks.

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According to the survey, wealth managers are likely to add or enhance client-relationship management systems and client-reporting and client-facing technology tools within the next two years.

Advisors want to communicate better with clients, said Alexander Camargo, an analyst at Celent and co-author of the report on wealth management IT spending.

As the survey was confined to North and Latin Americas, he goes on to add that North American firms are more likely to have implemented their wealth management technology than Latin American wealth managers.

According to the survey most of the firms surveyed spent between US$1 billion and US$5 billion on wealth management technology in 2011, with 62% reporting that investing in CRM and other front-office tools was their top priority.

More than half (56%) indicated that they expected their IT budgets to increase in 2012. The projected increase, on average, was between 5% and 10%, the report noted.

The survey noted that the firms were enthusiastic about tablets and other mobile devices, but investment in mobile technology was just beginning with only 39% of respondents offering mobile technology for advisors and 24% offering it to end users.

"Wealth managers across all regions are focusing on giving advisors more tools to not only capture a full view of goals and assets, but also improve ways to inform clients. As a consequence, firms will continue to add CRM systems and client reporting tools," said Isabella Fonseca, Research Director at Celent and coauthor of the report.

"Furthermore, wealth managers are adapting to end user demand for more transparency and control by offering a variety of self-directed tools."