Wealth managers around the world are getting it: They need a robust mobile app in order to stay competitive.
MyPrivateBanking Research, a Swiss research outfit, recently reported that 82% of the wealth managers it examined offer their high-net-worth clientele apps geared exclusively and specifically to their needs, a 19 percentage-point increase over a similar survey last year.
Still, the wealth management industry has a long way to go to satisfy clients’ demand for technical capabilities and digital offerings, a new study from PwC found.
The MyPrivateBanking report analyzed the mobile apps of 30 leading private banks and wealth managers that offer apps for their private clients, based on their wealth management assets at the end of 2015, provided that they had a significant mobile presence.
Apps included in the evaluation had to exhibit at least some features specifically geared to high-net-worth clients, such as investment portfolio overview, trading/brokerage capability, and content and features that are of particular interest to wealth clients.
The study excluded apps that were solely intended for institutional or commercial clients, as well as those that were solely dedicated to a bank’s investor relations activities or ones with a clear retail focus.
Analysts measured usability in terms of eight overarching criteria:
- Availability of mobile apps
- Core functions for clients
- Security
- Content and features for customer retention and marketing
- Contact features
- Technical features and support
- Platform integration
- Best practices
The best of the mobile apps in the analysis got high marks for their offerings of remote channels for client-advisor interaction and for advanced personalization capabilities.
UBS led the 2016 rankings, jumping from ninth place in last year’s survey. Credit Suisse maintained the number two spot.
BNP Paribas dropped from first place last year to number three; DBS moved up from seventh for fourth; and Société Générale fell one spot to fifth.
Citi Private Bank was the only U.S. wealth manager to make it into the top 10, coming in at number seven.