Wealth management technology spending is estimated to reach $4.4 billion this year, according to Celent, the consultancy.

Wealth management technology spending is estimated to reach $4.4
billion this year and grow by around 6.4 per cent in 2013, according to Celent,
the consultancy.

In general, Asia-Pacific and North American markets are
driving IT spending growth for next year, while the European market will drag
down growth in spending, it says.

In the report, Wealth
Management IT Spending: A Global Perspective, Celent examined key IT
trends, regional priorities and trends, front vs middle/back office spending,
and internal vs external spending by region for the wealth management
industry. It is a companion to the Celent report IT Trends and Spending
Implications for the Securities & Investments Industry, issued in October,
which provides a basic summary of the material covered in this report.

"A majority of IT spending will go to the front office.
Tools that will help the advisor capture client information and engage clients
through more advanced and interactive tools will gain priority," Isabella
Fonseca, research director with Celent's Wealth Management Group and co-author
of the report, said.

"Furthermore, wealth managers will allocate more of
their IT resources to external software and services, as opposed to legacy
internal systems and hardware."