Trends in the U.K. Wealth Management Industry You Should Watch Out For

The trends in the UK wealth management industry include detailed understanding of clients’ demographics and psychographics, digitalization of wealth management services and innovative pricing of products & services. In addition to these three trends, being certified by a registered professional body greatly increases wealth managers’ business opportunities.

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Table of Contents

1. Good Knowledge of Clients’ Demographics & Psychographics

Demographics refers to the understanding of clients’ characteristics and this knowledge is important for wealth managers and financial advisors. Demographics enhance providers knowledge of such issues as the category of clients that form the major market for their products & services and the income characteristics of their clients.
Psychographics is the knowledge of client or consumer behavior and it enables providers understand the reasoning in the client’s mind which informs their consumption habits. Providers will only be able to address clients’ needs appropriately when they have a proper understanding of their psychographics.
A 2019 report by Ernst & Young targeting UK wealth & asset managers indicates that clients demands have changed significantly over the years and that these demands have both a demographic and a psychographic orientation. The report shows that that most clients today are going for providers who will offer holistic support designed to address their specific needs and that clients are not willing to go for fragmented services & products.
This trend requires that wealth managers get acquainted with skills for determining clients’ demographics and psychographics so that they develop appropriate solutions for them and turn these clients into loyal customers.

Digitalization refers to the process where a business entity digitizes its records & operations and establishes systems to enable its clients access its services through digital platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and email.
A 2018 report by The Financial Times shows that nearly all wealth management firms in the UK are going digital and the report highlights the many benefits clients will experience with digitalization. This digital transformation is expected to address the demands of a wide range of clients from the young generation to the old generation.
Wealth managers will be required to digitalize in ways that make their clients experience more convenient than in the traditional practice and in such a way that services are more personalized and in compliance with data regulation protection rules.
Digitalization is now a trend among most business sectors in the UK and wealth managers who want to have influence in the UK market must have relevant digital skills that will enable them to integrate wealth management and digital skills so that they meet their clients’ needs more efficiently.

Pricing strategy refers to the methods a business uses to cost for its products and services with the aim of making it competitive in the market while sustaining or increasing its revenue.
Innovative pricing is a pricing strategy where a business entity does extensive research on the factors that determine the prices of its products & services and devices clever ways to have these factors work for the good of the business. Such pricing makes clients to feel they received true value for their money and increases client turnover.
A 2019 Ernst & Young report targeting UK wealth managers highlights that many affluent clients are not comfortable with the pricing models used by majority of wealth managers and have a feeling that the charges are not justified. Clients are keen to see how wealth managers arrive at their charges and pricing was ranked among the top factors clients based on to choose wealth managers.
Wealth managers have to be highly knowledgeable on how to use the price factor to their advantage in this industry and this requires them to have a complex mix of pricing knowledge and skills. Wealth managers can take specialized training on pricing strategies from trainers such as Coursera and CISI.

Professional certification is the specialized training and/or examination one undergoes to qualify for accreditation by a registered certifying body in a given industry. Such certification serves as proof of one’s ability to work in that industry and enhances the professional’s access to jobs.
The chartered wealth manager qualification offered by the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment is a certification that has become a brand in the wealth management sector. Wealth managers who undergo this examination can then apply to become chartered wealth managers which is a highly respected status in the UK.
Wealth managers are highly encouraged to get the chartered wealth manager qualification as it will greatly improve their marketability and earnings in this industry.