Wealth management fintech firm JHC Systems has launched a digital platform for “tech-illiterate” wealth managers, offering firms the ability to digitise key processes and operations in one place.
The platform enables mission critical data, processes, people, activities and offices to be drawn from one centralised database.
JHC Systems said with increasing costs and regulatory pressure, the platform has been designed to free up wealth managers’ time to ensure they are able to focus more on client relationships and retention.
Simon Bussy, director at Altus Consulting, welcomed this launch and said these new platforms and solutions will drive improved efficiency and service quality, while reducing operational risk.
He said: “The wealth sector is significantly behind other sectors of the financial services industry in terms of digital adoption; in many cases it’s still living in an old-panelled bubble. A patch-work of old, poorly-integrated systems, supplemented with excel spreadsheets and the like, is no way to run a business in the 21st century.
“Not only is it not efficient or profitable, but such manual processes add significant risk into the business.”
JHC explained that the products that make up the platform offering include Figaro, a platform for account administration, trading, regulatory compliance and resource optimisation; Neon, a dashboard for instant portfolio monitoring, risk analysis and suitability checking; and Xenon, an app which enables investors to monitor and interact with their portfolios on line, via any device.
Edward Lopez, chief revenue officer at JHC, said: “Although everyone is keen to make the most of digitisation, firms often try to run before they can walk. While other sectors have made strides in their digital capabilities, PwC recently dubbed wealth management ‘one of the least tech-literate financial services sectors’.
“We have seen this first hand so we know that wealth managers need to build from the ground up, making sure that they have the bare necessities in place first. Our digital wealth platform provides firms with a solid foundation from which they can start thinking about leaping into the future.”
Advisers will lag behind
According to Bussy, a third of advisers still cite back office administration as their primary business challenge, which is “staggering and disappointing since it’s almost 20 years since the first platforms emerged in the UK”.
He added the traditional players are now facing a new type of competitors, such as D2C digital robo wealth managers, which are now providing modern technology solutions on a B2B basis, such as Scalable Capital.
He said: “The historic excuse that ‘personal relationships are key so we like to do everything in person’ no long washes. Getting the basics right and delivering impeccable execution is – and should be – expected; the new wave of digital platforms are looking to deliver on this.
“Slick digital channels are now expected in every sphere of our day-to-day lives; firms must not believe they are somehow immune from change, or that their older clients just aren’t interested. A compelling, straight through digital experience is not age-dependent.
“Replacing ‘old’ technologies can be a painful exercise – both in terms of money and time – but getting a business onto a modern footing will provide payback many times over.
“Any advisory firm that doesn’t have this high on their agenda will – over time – become increasingly irrelevant.”
Lopez added: “JHC has served the industry for over 25 years and we’ve seen it all. During that time, just like our customers, we have had to digitise our offering in order to ensure that we have consistently anticipated the needs of clients as the industry has evolved.
“This journey means that we have been best placed to develop the Digital Wealth Platform, enabling firms to improve their capabilities today while also providing scalability for the future.”
