Among some of the most eye-catching findings was that almost half of those wealth managers surveyed by Avaloq rarely use their own online portals.

Wealth managers struggle to keep up with their clients’ changing communication needs, a survey of more than 3,000 investors and 300 firms worldwide has found.

The study, produced by banking and wealth management technology firm Avaloq, notes that despite growing client demand for digital channels, most wealth managers still rely on traditional methods such as phone calls and in-person meetings.

“As our world continues to digitalise, client appetite for wealth managers who provide clear, concise communication through modern, digital channels will only increase,” Suman Rao, UK managing director at Avaloq, said.

Almost half of wealth managers (46 per cent) rarely or never use their own online portals, compared with a quarter (26 per cent) who use them often and a small minority (5 per cent) who do all the time. Avaloq found that the picture is similar for mobile apps, with 46 per cent of wealth managers rarely or never using them, compared with just 24 per cent who often do and 6 per cent who use them all the time. 

The report comes at a time when there is much commentary about the impact of AI on the financial services sector (see here and here); parts of the industry aren’t as digitalised as they could be. 

In other findings, email remains the dominant method of communication for wealth managers, with 88 per cent often or always using it to communicate with clients, followed by phone calls (79 per cent) and face-to-face meetings (68 per cent).

When asking investors about their preferred way of communicating with their wealth manager, online platforms rank only second (15 per cent) to email (26 per cent), having increased in popularity from fifth place in 2023 (when 11.7 per cent voted for them). Meanwhile, mobile banking apps are now clients’ third most popular communication method (cited by 13 per cent), a noticeable rise from 2023 when they came in at number six (when 9.5 per cent chose them).

By contrast, Avaloq found that traditional communication methods are losing favour among global investors. Face-to-face meetings, once the top choice as the most popular communication method in 2023 (18.2 per cent), have dropped to fifth place (11 per cent), and phone calls, second in 2023 (17.8 per cent), are now tied for third with mobile apps (at 13 per cent).

UK experience
Turning to the UK, the Avaloq survey found that online portals are now second (cited by 18 per cent) only to email when looking at the communication preferences of UK investors, having increased in popularity from fifth place in 2023 (14 per cent). However, 46 per cent of UK wealth managers still rarely or never use them.

Face-to-face meetings and phone calls are now less popular with UK investors than online portals, cited as preferred by 17 per cent and 14 per cent respectively.