How CRM Tools Are Empowering Wealth Managers to Increase Value for Their Customers

By Limesh Parekh, CEO of Enjay IT Solutions

Wealth management is a booming market in India. It’s growing at the rate of knots. According to research, Indian wealth managers currently cater to a market of Rs. 100 lakh crore (almost $1.5 trillion) of wealth. This amount is almost equal to the total savings in bank deposits in the country and is expected to double in the next five years.

The challenge for wealth managers is not demand, but supply - being able to justify their clients’ trust by providing them with the right services. Wealth managers provide services like capital gains planning, estate planning and risk management and so on to high- and ultra-high-net-worth individuals (HNIs and UHNIs).

Factors Influencing Wealth Management

Various factors affect a wealth manager’s decision to offer customized plans to his clientele. Some of them are:

Net-Worth

The market for wealth managers in India generally begins at a personal net worth of Rs. 20-25 crore. Individuals with lower-net-worth have access to boutique services, like web-based tools for those with a net-worth below Rs. 1 crore. However, the ones with a net worth higher than Rs. 20 crores are really the ones causing waves in the wealth management industry.

Profession

New entrepreneurs and old money are the biggest contributors to this industry. Among HNIs, film stars are conservative investors more inclined to invest in a realtor and fixed income vehicles. Sportsmen, on the other hand, are more open to risk and equity. Thus, profession also impacts the kind of services a wealth manager pitches to his clients.

Expectations

With such disproportionately large funds come expectations. Clients expect wealth managers to be the best in the world. Alongside, they expect the wealth managers to double up as life coaches, confidantes, legal advisors, 3 am friends and even credit arrangers.

For instance, one client of a wealth management firm called one evening at 5 pm and stated that he had forgotten to pay his advance tax of Rs. 30 crores. He had to pay it by 6 pm and had no money in the bank. Another wealth manager mentioned that his client wanted to buy a Rolls Royce on a credit card and wanted the limit on his card increased to Rs. 10 crores right away.

Thus, wealth managers also must keep a track of customer expectations and idiosyncrasies to be able to cater to them better.

Age

The risk appetite of the client depends heavily on his age. A 65-year-old client will have a much lower risk appetite than one who is 35 years old. The client’s current liabilities also play an important role in deciding his aversion or comfort with risk in investment.

How Wealth Managers Make Decisions

Based on the above factors and more, wealth managers have to decide on services to pitch to their clients, and whether some urgent demands (like the Rolls Royce and advance tax cases) should be entertained.

They also have to consider the potential of clients to pay back. After all, they have to safeguard their companies from disaster cases like Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi.

Enter CRM Tools

Decisions like these cannot be left to a wealth manager’s gut. They must be taken on the basis of in-depth analysis of data and patterns. And they must also be taken quickly before the client decides to take his business (and money) elsewhere.

CRM tools are used by wealth management companies to capture the data of their clients. But these tools go one step further. Their intelligent algorithms also empower wealth managers to draw accurate analyses and take educated decisions quickly.

No wonder these tools are increasingly becoming popular with wealth managers. CRM tools can make wealth management more scientific. Managers no longer need to rely on their ‘gut’ and be answerable for adverse outcomes. They can make good decisions faster. They can further sharpen their skills and abilities by using data and analyses these tools offer.

CRM tools can redefine the wealth management industry. When it comes to scope, the sky is the limit.