We’ve seen technology shift the wealth management landscape for years. The global pandemic accelerated that shift as clients seek new ways to access their accounts, communicate with account managers, and manage their investments. To identify “The Top Wealth Management Technology Investments In 2021,” we interviewed more than 80 companies to determine which technology initiatives they consider to be hot, on the radar, and hype.

We found firms investing in advanced analytics and data analysis technologies to help financial advisors and portfolio managers provide more actionable insights and recommendations by looking at a customer’s broader financial situation. Case in point is technology firm Trendrating. The platform rates price trends on more than 15,000 securities in 40 countries. As the S&P 500 fell 30% in 22 days in early 2020, Trendrating issued timely downgrades that armed portfolio managers with extra “intelligence” in order to manage downside risk for their clients.

Personalization technologies emerged as another hot technology. As one respondent noted during an interview, “I don’t think I’ve heard the word ‘personalization’ more than I’ve heard it this year.” These technologies create relevant, value-added experiences. They frame, guide, extend, and enhance interactions based on a person’s history, preferences, and intent. Merrill Lynch’s new capability Personal Wealth Analysis combines goal planning and cash flow modeling in one intuitive view. Financial advisors use the tool with clients to evaluate trade-offs on the financial impact of a decision and present the customer’s financial plan in an easy-to-understand view.

Be sure to check the full report for the complete evaluation, which includes insights from global wealth management professionals, as well as Forrester Analytics’ Consumer Technographics® and Business Technographics® survey data. And for more information, including a detailed analysis of the results and real-world examples, also watch the webinar, What’s Hot And What’s Not In Wealth Management Tech For 2020.

(written with Brandon Shaik, research associate)