Wealth Management: Creating a future-ready front office

As Wealth Management firms reinvent themselves for the era of hybrid advice—a combination of human and digital capabilities—the workforce implications of these changes become an afterthought all too often.

The hybrid model, in addition to technology advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning, forces firms to understand what could make their operating model scalable, more efficient and less costly. Simultaneously, they must analyze the impact of those changes on workforce issues such as talent acquisition and reskilling. Only when the entire picture is addressed are they truly creating a future-ready front office.

Thinking through front-office impacts

In this paper, we examine the impact of digital technologies on the front office workforce for the following functions:

• Client management – As automation eliminates many of the manual tasks currently being performed, advisors would be free to focus on more customized advice for their clients.
• Investment management and performance monitoring – Enabled by technology, advisors could proactively manage a client’s account or clients could better self‑direct their investments with customized reports.
• Pricing models – By separating digital and human fees, clients could choose what kind of advice they desire.
• Risk and compliance – Digital technologies like AI are being implemented to help assess client data and identify risks that previously would have remained hidden.
• Sales and marketing – Clients expect their advisors to be on the same digital channels as they are, making it imperative to utilize social media tools to build and maintain relationships.

Wealth Management firms need to position front office staff for success. Holistically considering these five functions is key to success and timing is everything. Leaving workforce issues as an afterthought puts your speed to implementation and results at risk.