Millennials are too often written off as a generation of overeducated slackers who live at home into their 30s. And while few cynics will laugh over the coming years, millennials will laugh all the way to the bank. Here’s why: Millennials will receive the biggest transfer of private wealth in history and become the financial industry’s driving Read More
What happens when NIM gets thin? Financial institutions have watched their net interest margins (NIMs) shrink for more than 20 years, and the reasons are many: historically low interest rates, a flattening yield curve, and a shift in balance sheet structures. (Figure 1 demonstrates this protracted, troublesome trend.) Though interest rates are slowly beginning to climb, and Read More
Over the last decade, we’ve seen tremendous changes in how the advisory industry provides and delivers services. More than ever, the roboadvisory has become a substantial part of the conversation—and the benefits are enticing. Instead of the traditional, human-based advisory system favored in the past, roboadvisories can offer investors a number of distinct advantages. These include increased Read More
Whatever fintech meant just a generation ago, or even a few years ago, its breadth and scope have widened to a point where it embraces a stunning range of applications. Scott Robinson, the founder and VP of San Francisco-based Plug and Play Fintech, takes us through the innovation landscape to highlight the very best of fintech prior Read More
OK, so we aren’t yet pulling up to ATMs in flying cars or conducting financial transactions with life on Mars. Still the future is now for the wealth management industry. Technological innovations such as robo-advisor applications and social investing platforms have catapulted us into a new age of financial advising. However, the profound extent of technology’s impact Read More
Many bank wealth management groups serve young people as “accommodation clients” – because they are family members of existing clients. But as Gen X and Millennials accumulate more assets, banks will have to sharpen their focus on courting them if they want to thrive in the future. “The banks that are successful in attracting younger clients know Read More
In the eight years since the financial crisis, the roller coaster changes within retail banking have driven large banks to more aggressively cross-sell existing customers on products and services outside of traditional loans and deposits. Slammed by a combination of low-interest rates and weak non-interest income, more retail banks have been working to sell their current deposit Read More
One way for banks to increase banker productivity and per-customer profitability is to better link their commercial and private banking/ wealth management efforts. Serving both the commercial and personal wealth requirements of a business not only builds revenue but also increases account stickiness and improves client retention.Only after starting my own business did I realize how intimately Read More
Bigger is better may not have been what the politicians and regulators envisioned post-financial crisis but that’s what we now have in the banking industry. In short, big banks in the United States have closed ranks and gotten much bigger over the past decade, while smaller banks have either merged their way into the middle tier ranks, Read More
There’s been a lot of debate about millennials and their likes and dislikes. I myself cite regular surveys that millennials would rather go to the dentist than visit their bank and that surveys of millennials find no bank brands are desired. In some ways, this gives a false impression, as we have to think that when we refer to Read More
According to recent census information, the millennial generation now outnumbers the baby boomer generation. While the youngest millennials have yet to enter the workforce, the oldest in the group are in their early 30s, acquiring wealth, buying homes and starting families. In the coming years, this generation will be the recipients of the largest wealth transfer in Read More
It's a simple fact: Millennials are your future customers. Already the largest group in the workforce, the leading edge is now in their 30’s and reaching an age when they have stable jobs, are forming families and buying homes. By 2020 they will have greater savings and investments than Baby Boomers. They are not just a customer Read More
In the wealth management industry, optimizing wealth manager productivity while satisfying client needs for interaction with those managers is a delicate balancing act. Firms have learned that a manager’s success depends on more than an individual’s talents; the difference between success and failure depends on the organization’s leadership strategy. Put simply, firms are more likely to succeed Read More
Working with “digitally-savvy” mass affluent customers, particularly on wealth management issues, requires moving away from a branch-centric service model to one that leads with digital tools and includes some personal interaction from a skilled investment advisor. Unfortunately, many banks have been slow to “digitally engage” with the mass affluent market in ways that integrate both the personal Read More
Many banks are devoting an increasing amount of their marketing and technological resources to court the mass affluent, who represent 13 million households with a total income 50% higher than the U.S. National Average. However, this appealing demographic is a difficult group to attract and keep. Their selection of products and services is based on convenience, returns Read More
Mobile banking’s “first wave” is a good news story. Consumer adoption of relatively low-value transactions has been swift. Consumer trust is high. According to The Wall Street Journal, a Federal Reserve survey found that “cellphone users tapping into banking services increased 33% during 2012. Nearly half of those with smartphones accessed a banking app or mobile website Read More
The desire for growth is leading bankers to renew their focus on capturing the mass affluent population. In the U.S., these are the people with liquid investable assets ranging from $250,000 to $1 million, representing more than $7.5 trillion in assets. But for most banks, making inroads with the mass affluent population has proven difficult. The reality Read More
Before the crisis, a “Field of Dreams” approach worked for the wealth management business – if you built it, they would come. An environment of deregulation, falling interest rates, a rising stock market and a seemingly unlimited supply of talent allowed banks the luxury of focusing largely on acquiring clients, almost regardless of cost. Now with compressed Read More
There are sound reasons why midsized and large banks want to stake a claim to the wealth management business. Wealth management is, overall, not capital-intensive, the cost of entry or expansion is low and much of the revenue is recurring with attractive margins. Such services are valuable for capturing and keeping the bank’s best customers – high-net-worth Read More
The Latin phrase scientia potentia est, meaning “knowledge is power,” has proven true in banking for centuries. Financial institutions strive to know their customers, to predict their wants and needs and to offer services that encourage loyalty. This year, the industry is poised to bring this practice to an entirely new level. Regional and community institutions should Read More
