Financial advisors with mobile apps are more likely to succeed in the future. A survey by business and management consulting firm EY shows that investors’ demand for mobile apps to manage their wealth has increased at a faster-than-expected pace.
The ‘2019 EY Global Wealth Management Research Report’ shows that 41% clients prefer mobile apps for wealth management activities. These activities include executing transactions, monitoring and analysing results and opening investment accounts.
The current number is sharply higher than what the EY survey had predicted a few years back. EY’s 2016 survey had predicted that the number of investors preferring mobile app for wealth management activities would rise to 24% in 2018, from 18% in 2016.
The upward trend in favour of mobile apps is likely to increase further in the next couple of years, with the number surging to as high as 51%, shows the survey.
Nithin Kamath, CEO, Zerodha feels that customers have evolved overtime across industries and financial services industry is no different. “Mobile apps are a convenient medium for investors to keep a track on their investments. Apps also provide a personalized experience to investors, which is not possible in any other medium,” said Kamath.
Mumbai-based IFA Ritesh Sheth said that investors want to have the option of checking the portfolio immediately and a mobile app fits the bill.
Further, the EY survey shows nearly two-thirds investors prefer apps for executing transactions while just over half prefer them for other basic tasks such as monitoring results and opening accounts.
Investors are also starting to prefer apps for more advanced activities such as portfolio rebalancing and receiving financial advice.
Meanwhile, number of investors preferring access through websites, face-to-face interaction and phone calls as their primary activity for wealth management activities have seen a decline.
In the 2016 survey, 38% investors had said that websites were the most preferred method for wealth management activities. In the 2019 survey, this number has come down to 24% and it is likely to fall further to 17% in the next couple of years.
