Tomasz Czech, Business Solutions Manager at Comarch Capital Markets, discusses the impact of digital technology on wealth management firms and the solutions available.

How is digital technology impacting the way wealth management companies operate?

Nowadays the smart use of digital technology is becoming a source of competitive advantage and gives financial institutions the ability to compete for the new generation of clients with wealth management FinTechs. There are many areas that are being transformed across wealth management industry. New digital channels such as mobile apps, social media apps, smart devices supporting natural language processing ensure accessibility and convenience of clients’ service. Robotic process automation allows for reducing operational costs of financial institutions. The application of advanced analytics to improve decisions making processes leads to higher quality of products and services. Technology changes the way wealth management companies serve and acquire clients, automates repetitive processes freeing up the wealth managers’ time for performing creative tasks. It also changes investment management standards toward automated portfolio management.

How does Comarch Wealth Management support financial institutions in providing a full scope of wealth management advisory processes?

Comarch Wealth Management is an integrated, multi-module platform dedicated to retail, affluent and private banking client segments. The platform supports financial institutions and their clients in delivering the full scope of investment advisory services. Recurrent advisory is fully supported by automated or hybrid investment advice, simplified advisory service helps with occasional assistance with choosing investment products, in turn execution only services give direct access to trading desks enhanced with support for order execution and all administrative tasks. Apart from advisory services Comarch Wealth Management supports traditional discretionary portfolio management of individual client assets.

How does Comarch Omni-channel Robo-advisor help strengthen relationships between advisors and clients?

Comarch Wealth Management focuses on the relationship and cooperation between advisors and wealthy clients regardless of the way client investments are managed: be it fully automated robo-advisory with the help of a chat bot, or personal advisory carried out by a relationship manager. In both of these cases, Comarch Wealth Management ensures a consistent user experience. Due to its omni-channel approach, the platform allows to seamlessly continue processes through multiple channels and share information between clients and their advisors.

What trends do you see taking place with virtual reality and augmented reality in the banking sector?

Deep transformation affects also user interface. A significant potential in this regard is seen in VR and AR technologies whose application in various branches has been lately explored with growing intensity. The financial world does not remain indifferent to it. Recognized banks such as Wells Fargo are already experimenting with this technology as other – Goldman Sachs and Santander – watch this space closely. Last year Comarch has launched a prototype of mobile application for wealth management that allows for building and managing financial portfolios in 3D reactive environment by placing a smartphone in VR googles.

What are your future plans for development? Or do you have any new pilot programs you’d like to share with us?

According to the Comarch Wealth Management roadmap, it will become an increasingly intelligent system through the use of artificial intelligence. The main aim of the AI component is to automate processes and free up the advisors’ time for providing value-added services to clients, in turn increasing advisors’ efficiency and reducing operational costs. From the end-clients perspective of financial institution, the use of artificial intelligence will allow greater personalization of the offer through continuous process of learning (from data) about the changing clients’ needs.

Comarch Financial Services is a provider of state-of-the-art IT solutions for banks, insurance companies, brokerage houses, asset management companies, as well as investment and pension funds. The systems and applications offered by us for the financial market are characterized by high quality, excellent performance and great flexibility. Our wide product portfolio allows for the precise selection of software that meets clients’ expectations, preferences and capabilities.