✅ What Does Ikigai Have To Offer The Wealth Management Space?
Our first article today comes from TechCrunch writer Steve O’Hear and introduces us to the new London fintech – Ikigai. Ikigai is on a mission to combine digital banking with wealth management in one app. The company was founded by former McKinsey partners who say their target customers expect more from banks than previous generations. The company aims to capture both present and future high-net-worth individuals with a premium banking experience similar to those offered by traditional legacy banks. And though their clients are typically in their late twenties or thirties, co-founder Edgar de Picciotto says they are entering their prime spending and earning years. These individuals are looking to secure their financial future and they want to do more with their money.
Ikigai is determined to offer them a user experience that is significantly better than their competitors. Ikigai does not have a freemium model, as many on the market do. Instead, they function with a flat subscription fee and offer new users immediate access to a relationship manager. This is one offering that already differentiates the company from most other digital-first banking options. In addition to this, they also offer fully managed, globally diversified investment portfolios. These portfolios are managed by Ikigai in collaboration with asset manager BlackRock. They take into account both risk appetite and the nature of what users want to achieve.
Today’s investors have specific expectations and demands that many current financial providers just don’t meet, says co-founder de Picciotto. These include approaching personal finance as an act of self-care, as well as offering options that help users align their money with their goals and sense of purpose. Ikigai will be partnering with technology providers Railsbank and WealthKernal for their core banking tech. De Picciotto says that will allow them the time and focus they need to execute their vision. And that is to offer a modern digital banking and wealth management app with a dose of humanity included.
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✅ What’s Happening With Wealth Management In The Asia Pacific Region?
Next today we dive into a few highlights from a report on Digital Wealth Management in Asia Pacific from KPMG. This is a report that identifies key trends impacting the region, with Hong Kong and Singapore being the most developed markets. The Asia Pacific region is known as a leading destination for wealth management, due in part to high levels of access to mobile technology as well as high savings rates. There are also pro-investment regulatory environments in Hong Kong and Singapore that will continue to attract a large amount of individual wealth and corporate capital from around the world. These elements combine to present significant growth opportunities for solutions in a space with growing affluent and middle-class populations.
According to the report, the primary growth enabler for wealthtech in the region will be the successful targeting of the younger generation. As we mentioned with Ikigai, this is a generation of technologically advanced users who are demanding highly customized banking and wealth management solutions. And COVID-19 has further pushed them into online channels with remote interaction. The report specifically noted an increase in investing activity in mainland China associated with a greater number of younger clients using smartphones. And Vietnam has emerged with one of the fastest growing rates of ultra-high-net-worth individuals in Asia.
According to the report, banks need to focus on efficient online solutions for mass affluent clients. They need to accelerate their digital adoption and leverage big data analytics to stay competitive in this rapidly growing market.
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✅ What Are Three Powerful Wealth Management Trends For 2021?
And finally, today we offer a few carefully curated trends for wealth managers to consider when refining their strategies for the coming year. The first trend to address is paperless onboarding. Traditional onboarding for wealth management clients takes weeks or even months with paper-based, manual processes. But it is now mission-critical for wealth managers to offer frictionless, digital onboarding. For some firms, this will mean the end-to-end automation of everything from prospecting to identity verification and due diligence checks. The second trend for wealth managers to keep in mind moving forward is the need to balance digital onboarding with hybrid advice.
Today’s investors want a streamlined digital experience that still offers a human touch.This means that the new normal in wealth management will likely become a combination of in-person advice supercharged with digital efficiency. And finally – wealth managers need to remember that next-generation reporting is also a growing client demand. Customers want quick, easily digestible information, available 24/7, on the go, and through the channel of their choice. But wealth management reporting has been the most neglected part of the life cycle. Firms need to offer dynamic, intuitive experiences for clients and not just digital versions of traditional paper statements.
