China and India are seen in Asia as the two main drivers of digitally-driven change to how wealth and asset management are delivered.

China and India are the two largest potential drivers of technological-driven change in wealth and asset management, with adoption of digital models in these countries expected to rise rapidly over the next five years, a report says.

Based on an investor survey last year by Cerulli Associates, the analytics firm, differences in expectations of digital engagement by investors now and in five years' time are most striking in China and India. 

In China, 23.8 per cent of survey respondents see only 0-20 per cent digital engagement currently. But this plunges to 1.4 per cent in five years' time. In India, it is 25.4 per cent now against 5.4 per cent in five years' time.

While investors expect greater digital engagement, Cerulli said it is unlikely to lead to any immediate disruption in the traditional distribution channels as investors still want to be in touch with their relationship managers or financial advisors.

Cerulli expects the pace of growth towards digital engagement to be slower and more calibrated in India than in China. 

To put such findings into a global fintech context, a survey issued in March from PricewaterhouseCoopers showed that total investment in financial technology could reach $150 billion over the next three to five years. The survey also showed that the overwhelming majority of banks fear they will lose out to these new business models. Some 83 per cent of respondents from traditional financial institutions think part of their business could be lost to standalone fintechs; that percentage rises to 95 per cent for banks. That report, Blurred Lines: How FinTech is shaping Financial Services, is based on a survey of 544 respondents across 46 countries.