Growing demand from consumers wanting to manage their finances from mobile devices will be a major driver for an increased IT spend by wealth managers, according to technology analysts Ovum.

Ovum forecasts that IT spending by the global wealth-management industry will reach almost $35 billion by 2016, with a heavy investment in digital channels.

In the Asia-Pacific region, the forecast is that IT spending will increase by an annual compound growth rate of 8.5 per cent through to 2016.

In the Asia-Pacific region, Ovum says that private banks, wealth managers and financial planning businesses serving high-net-worth clients will spend $150 million on technology over this period, while retail brokers will spend $135 million and retail asset managers $73 million.

Savvy consumers

Ovum analyst, Jaroslaw Knapik, said that while regulation and the ongoing drive to reduce operational costs would continue to inflate technology spending, the “rapid consumerisation” of technology was now having an impact on wealth managers.

“People are much more comfortable now with using smartphones and tablets, and we are seeing a big growth in personal finance tools as people become more personally involved in their finances,” Knapik told I&T News in a telephone interview.

“So, on the one hand consumers are becoming more self-service, but then again they are also more demanding in terms of the services they want.”

Knapik said wealth managers could use their investment in digital channels to differentiate their service offerings, build customer loyalty and enhance cross selling.