More than 300 tech providers from 21 different countries are currently serving wealth managers in Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Amongst these, 170 are homegrown Swiss companies, according to a new report by the Wealth Mosaic, a knowledge resource for the wealth management sector.
On April 16, the Wealth Mosaic released the Swiss Wealth Technology Landscape Report 2020, a directory-led report featuring 306 pure technology solutions providers operating in the Swiss and Liechtenstein wealth management sector.
The report, part of a broader ongoing research on solution providers for the wealth management sector, aims to provide the most comprehensive and accessible directory of tech-focused companies available in Switzerland and Liechtenstein, and help wealth managers discover, understand and engage more easily with the ecosystem. It follows the release of the first UK Wealth Technology Landscape Report last month.
Amongst the 300+ service provided listed, more than 170 are Swiss companies, showcasing that the Swiss wealthtech and related sectors are healthily growing. Switzerland is represented by the likes of AAAccell, which specializes in risk and asset management, Investiere, a digital venture capital platform, NetGuardians, an award-winning fraud prevention startup, as well as robo-advisor specialists Clevercircles, InvestGlass and Meetinvest.
The report also features 13 articles from and 6 interviews of solution providers, who share insight on the current state of wealth management and address some of the most urging issues right now.
A post-COVID-19 era
According to Thomas Schornstein, head sales at Additiv, a Swiss SaaS provider to the wealth management industry, the sector is facing multiple challenges, including intense competition, fee compression, low or negative interest rates, and stricter regulations. Additionally, the ongoing COVID-19 health crisis is further pushing the industry towards greater digitalization.
Echoing Schornstein, Jay Oberai, founder at Swiss investment management company Synergy Asset Management, said the COVID-19 outbreak has accentuated the need for technology to help the industry transform.
One of the long-lasting repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic will be the realization that physical location is no more an imperative, Oberai said. With remote access for work and entertainment becoming a reality for most of the population, the way clients view the management of their wealth will ultimately evolve.
According to him, investors are rapidly embracing digital technology and changing the way they interact with asset and wealth management firms. Moving forward, the old methods of differentiation – price, speed and access – will become obsolete and the battlefields for customer loyalty will be fought in customization, capturing customers’ attention, and developing ecosystems beyond just finance, he said.
Arndt Mielisch, senior marketing manager Appway, another Swiss wealthtech provider, agrees that the sector is steadily moving towards a marketplace model.
Citing findings from Appway’s 2019 wealth management market study, Mielisch said investors now want to work with a one-stop shop, and a wealth firm that brings together a range of products and services from across the marketplace.
For Urs Bolt, an independent wealthtech advisor from Switzerland, the wealth management sector will ultimately follow other industries and shift towards an open ecosystem model.
“If we look at China and Southeast Asia, we see already that ecosystems are quickly becoming a new reality,” Bolt said. “DBS Bank in Singapore is one very good case in point. It is a universal bank that also acts as a platform for related products and services.”
By restructuring its business around third-party ecosystems built by others, DBS Bank is now positioning itself as an ecosystem orchestrator and a facilitating partners, he said, adding that “in doing this, [DBS] has found new ways to remain relevant to their existing customer base and attract new business at the same time.”
