The wealth management industry is lagging behind personal banking in having digitally accessible applications. Only 41 percent of wealth management products are available online, compared to 66 percent of personal banking products, according to a new study by Avoka, a financial technology firm based in Denver. This is a problem for investors who expect a fast, omni-channel wealth management experience, the tech firm says. “Depending on paper sign-up processes for wealth management is not a long-term growth strategy,” the report said. “Since wealth products are important for high-value customers, and there is increased digital competition from non-bank wealth management options, beefing up the availability of wealth account openings would seem to be a priority.”
When to Meet the Kids (and Grandkids)
Financial advisors with high net worth clients talk all the time about the coming wealth transfer, either to Generation X or the millennial generation. But when should advisors sit down with their clients' children, or in some cases, even grandchildren? According to a Spectrem Group study detailed on MillionaireCorner.com, millennial millionaires say the earlier the better. More than half of those millennials with a net worth of more than $1 million said a child should be introduced to the family's financial advisor before turning 12. Among millionaires of all generations, more than half agreed that the introduction should come after the child turns 18. Only 20 percent believed waiting until the child is 25 years old.
FTJ FundChoice Launches New SMA Program
FTJ FundChoice added a new separately managed accounts program to its TAMP to improve advisors’ ability to offer strategist-tailored solutions. The program connects advisors who serve ultra high net worth and high net worth clients directly to top-tier strategists. The program is designed only for portfolios with at least $1 million in assets, which FTJ FundChoice President Dean Cook said have “unique investment goals and are in greater need of guidance.” Meeder Investment Management is the first firm to take advantage of the SMA program and its private wealth management team will construct custom designed portfolios specifically to minimize taxes and track a client-specific benchmark. FTJ FundChoice said other partner firms are currently being vetted.