Firms must navigate a landscape characterised by disparate data sources, legacy systems, and increasingly sophisticated technological expectations.

The following article comes from the 12th WealthBriefing Technology and Operations in Wealth Management Research Report. It is written by Benoit Sanchez, who leads the wealth management and private banking activities in Asia-Pacific for Alpha Financial Markets Consulting.

In the rapidly-transforming world of wealth management, data is more important than ever for strategic decision-making. Driven by increasing client demands, complex regulatory environments, and the emerging potential of artificial intelligence, wealth managers are facing a growing demand for data. Industry research highlights a turning point for data integrity.

In the 12th WealthBriefing Technology and Operations Trends Report 2024, firms reported an average “data reliability, timeliness, and accessibility” score of 73 per cent in 2024. This is an improvement from 2022 (63 per cent), but a marginal decline from 2023 (74 per cent). This subtle downturn underscores the persistent demands that wealth managers face in managing their data ecosystems. To continually improve data integrity is complicated; firms must navigate a landscape characterised by disparate data sources, legacy systems, and increasingly sophisticated technological expectations. To keep making headway to address data integrity, we would advise wealth managers in APAC to focus their efforts on four critical domains:

1. Lending and credit risk – ensuring accurate and comprehensive credit-related information is crucial for risk management, client risk rating, and reporting. Improved credit data also provides new opportunities for digital lending and faster credit applications; 

2. Client pricing – maintaining precise and timely pricing data is essential for investment decision-making; 

3. Client lifecycle – tracking comprehensive client information through the lifecycle enables personalised service and strategic insights, and a quicker route to market; and 

4. Market data – often there’s an opportunity to rationalize market data subscriptions to reduce the cost to serve and increase margins.

Several strategic approaches can help wealth managers enhance their data integrity:

• Move towards unified platforms – consolidate disparate systems into a single, integrated platform. This approach leads to improvements in data quality, operational efficiency, and scalability; 

• Implement advanced data management tools – to automatically extract, process, and integrate data from multiple sources, reducing manual intervention and potential errors; 

• Adopt the “CIA” framework – a comprehensive approach to data security focusing on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. This framework will help organisations prioritise data protection and accessibility; and 

• Invest in specialist skills – develop or recruit talent capable of navigating the complex technical and strategic aspects of modern data management. 

The future of wealth management is inextricably linked to data so wealth managers must view data integrity as a strategic asset.

By taking a proactive approach, wealth managers can transform challenges into competitive advantages by enabling faster adoption of artificial intelligence; offering more personalised services; better informed decision-making; and ultimately, enhanced client satisfaction.

The author
Benoit Sanchez leads the wealth management and private banking activities in APAC. Over the last 15 years, Benoit has advised more than 20 renowned private banks and wealth managers across Europe and Asia-Pacific on transforming and optimising their operational efficiency and data management with augmented client experience resulting in top and bottom line performance.

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