Wealth management solutions, or WealthTech, have been at the centre of fintech since as far back as we trace. This is for good reason, given the constant client demand for personalized customer experience, the variety of stakeholders involved, and the need for data security and regulatory compliance.
Even with game changing innovation capabilities, new companies sometimes struggle to gain market share as customers don’t easily switch to a new provider. Startups, especially WealthTech startups, have to cultivate credibility.
We compiled four focal points for new WealthTech companies, from the journeys of other successful companies who climbed this mountain before you:
1. Focus on the customer
Fintech innovators launch solutions for everyone including financial firms, private investors, investment advisors and brokers. Even if you choose to target individuals who want to manage their personal portfolio, they come with varied preferences. Some are goal oriented and prefer to make their own decision (they look for tools that are focused on assets data and buy/sell simplicity, and tools that are designed to achieve goals) and some would like recommendations (using AI for advice-driven customer guidance, with or without using human advisors for customer support and decision making). Whatever it is they want, they want transparency, accessibility, data privacy and a platform that is easy to use.
2. Focus on the expertise
Fintechs need familiarity with the business of financial services, not just tech infrastructure and innovation capabilities. Atlantic Canada’s rich history in the financial industry and backend operations give our companies the advantage of gaining access to the right organizations, individuals and associations. This also means we have the possibility of learning from the mistakes of others and to challenge ourselves to test theories.
3. Focus on the technology platform
Advances in predictive analytics, AI and data aggregation are making it possible to develop sophisticated solutions for all stakeholders. Trends that are quickly adopted by customers include fractional stocks trading, multi account aggregation (through data integration with financial institutions and other platforms), and tokenization of assets through blockchain. A big advantage for new WealthTech companies is the absence of legacy systems and processes, which reduces time and cost for implementation.
4. Focus on the partnership
You are not expected to have the experience, expertise and learnings for the three focal points listed above. Create a system and process that are designed to work with (rather than compete against) other financial institutions and players. Networking and partnerships can cover huge gaps, from brining in the experience and expertise you lack and offsetting marketing costs, to building credibility faster by association. However, there are a few things to pay attention to before striking a partnership.
An excellent example of a WealthTech startup getting it right on all these points is Passiv, a platform that allows individual customers to build a personalized investment portfolio matching their needs and goals. Passiv recently partnered with Wealthica, the largest financial aggregator in Canada, to give users the advantage of a unified view of their different accounts and to allow them to factor in the assets they hold in other institutions, when rebalancing their portfolios.
It will be interesting to see how WealthTech trends play out in both the short and long-term. At Atlantic FinTech, we are here to support you in your growth journey as a fintech company. Feel free to get in touch with us at info@atlanticfintech.ca.