Investors have always been demanding, and that hasn’t changed. But they’re increasingly expecting investment managers to have sophisticated processes. They expect these firms to take advantage of existing proptech to streamline processes and make information more readily available.
“Right now, there’s the expectation that no matter what I’m investing in or who I’m investing with, I should be able to see my investments on my laptop, my tablet, and my mobile phone,” Barbier says.
According to the WMRE survey, only 44 percent of respondents use an investor CRM and only 39 percent have an investor portal.
As far as the functionality of the investor portals, 71 percent of respondents say their portals provide investor access to documents and reports. Forty-three percent say it integrates with their investment management system, and the same percentage say it can track and update investor profile information. Other features includes document signature capabilities, an interactive dashboard for investment decisions, and a repository for new investment opportunities.
“There are a lot of organizations vying for capital, and from an investor’s perspective, if I’m looking at investing my money in two different groups that seem identical in terms of the type of assets they pursue and the returns they generate, but one is communicating with me regularly with a CRM and providing access to a portal and the other isn’t, the technology may sway my judgment,” Barbier says.
For a significant percentage of respondents, technology influences how management firms communicate with their investors. Forty-three percent say that they contact clients more frequently because of technology, likely because it makes it easier, while 13 percent say technology has made it possible or allows them to contact clients less frequently, perhaps because clients can access information at their convenience by using investor portals.