Wrap platform Nucleus’s chief executive’s has claimed the clients of the future expect you to be high touch on the human stuff and hi-tech on everything else.
David Ferguson said clients of the future require a different and more innovative level of service from their advisers, as the technological revolution across financial services will overturn traditional expectations and demands.
He said: “I (the client) will pay a lot for human inputs, for you to coach me, to lend your expertise to my complex life and to give me peace of mind...
“I will certainly pay for you to make it (my life) easy. These are all things that are increasingly going to be dependent on technology.”
At the wrap platform’s ninth annual strategy day, Mr Ferguson told advisers their primary means of engaging with clients in the future would have to be digital as clients will expect to message advisers and get an immediate reply.
Mr Ferguson said information should be in one place, held in a secure cloud storage system accessible by clients.
Client money and data should be secure, and protected by industry best practice, he added.
Mr Fergusson also said advisers would need to help clients visualise everything in relation to their wealth.
Clients should be able save easily for their children, and family needs should be met if they die, with the onus on advisers to make this happen.
Touching on robo-advice, Mr Ferguson said although it had yet to mature, advisers should take advantage of its potential to bolster their services.
He said: “2016 was the year when robo-advice was everywhere but there were never any robots and there was no advice.
2016 was the year when robo-advice was everywhere but there were never any robots and there was no advice. David Fergusson“It was only asset allocation and fund selection by numbers but in 2020 I [will] love how you’ve plugged it in to make my journey more personal and to reduce my fees.
“If I’m your client in 2020 I expect you to be high touch on the human stuff and hi-tech on everything else.
“Your human input is incredibly valuable and your opportunity is to get more automated to get more human.”
Kim Barrett, IFA at Hertfordshire-based Barretts Financial Solutions, said: “Complete tosh. Every 60 or 70 or 80-year-old client cannot be technically savvy.
“As chief executive he doesn’t deal with reality. I’ve had 42 years of experience in financial services. You need to be technically savvy to keep pace with the fast-moving pace of life.
“One of the selling points is we use Transact where clients have got 24/7 to access the worth of their investments. We can tell which client is logging on to their portfolio. Ten out of 144 go on to check.
“The majority of our clients have email and would use it. Some clients don’t have email, mainly older clients.
“Older clients prefer to get on the phone. Technology is an irrelevance to people like that. A machine, tablet (or) computer can’t give you that.
“Data held offsite is an FCA requirement, so that is important to keep data information secure and backed-up.”
