CRM, the True Companion for Wealth Management Advisors

Dears,

A monumental shift is currently underway in wealth management, as transactional “brokers” make the transition to being true “advisors” and the service model transforms from a static traditional approach to a dynamic one driven by client needs. To make this change about more than just terminology, however, wealth management firms need to embrace client-centric strategies at a profound level, re-engineering their processes, embedding consistent best practices within their systems, and empowering advisors to build deeper, more enduring client relationships.

Day in the Lay of a WM Advisor – Too Complex and Challenging

Advisors are at the front lines of client-relationship building, and their ability to cultivate these relationships and make them more profitable is increasingly dictated by the information and tools at their disposal. The faster they can access and understand the data they need, the better—and more efficiently—they can serve clients. This translates not only into higher client satisfaction and more client confidence; it also directly affects an advisor’s productivity and ability to manage their book of business. An efficient advisor can manage more assets and more clients, and as the number of new clients and size of their wealth is growing faster than the pool of available skilled financial advisors, the resulting resource crunch is going to increasingly affect wealth management firms’ ability to take advantage of growth opportunities.

The situation is already shockingly dire: one-third of advisors feel that they do not get enough time to service clients, and advisors on average report that contact with existing clients is limited to 30% of their overall time. As their workloads increase, one can only imagine what the impact could be on the level of service advisors are able to deliver to clients. Equipping financial advisors to be as effective and productive as possible is therefore of paramount importance to wealth management firms. By bringing the best tools and information possible to the advisor desktop, they empower advisors to perform at a higher level, delivering better service levels while managing a larger book of business.

One concern in furnishing advisors with a wide range of tools and information sources, however, is ensuring that they are usable, not overwhelming. No matter how great the tools and data, switching between multiple systems to accomplish a task or checking multiple data sources to get a comprehensive picture is sure to slow down even the most nimble and tech-proficient advisor.When productivity is critical, this simply isn’t acceptable.

CRM, the Advisor’s Companion

To solve this problem, many wealth management firms are looking to integrate as many systems and information sources as possible into a single intuitive interface for their advisors. This gives them the best of both worlds: the “best of breed” tools and information from the best internal and third-party sources, all with a single access point.The most natural system to use as a unifying hub in this capacity is the CRM system. CRM systems are designed to be the single source of aggregated client information, and they make excellent portals for integrating client-facing tools and data. Wealth management firms should first and foremost look for CRM systems that incorporate the broadest set of strong features—encompassing marketing, sales, and service—to eliminate unnecessary point systems, but they should also seek systems with high flexibility to allow for integration of additional systems and incorporation of data from third parties or other specialized internal systems. Some CRM systems fill this role particularly well, incorporating external applications or links in context—for example, one-click access to a map program or ticker information within the client file to display client-related directions or stock information. Again, flexibility is vital here, to allow the wealth management firm to deliver a system that best fits its advisors’ work styles and confers a competitive advantage. Systems the firm might wish to integrate into the CRM hub could include portfolio accounting systems, analytics programs, and trade execution platforms, for example, and external data types to incorporate might include custodial data, market data, financial headlines, ticker information, and more. Given the ubiquity of Microsoft Office and Outlook and the important roles these programs play in advisors’ daily activities, CRM systems that offer pre-built integration between the CRM system and these programs can be of immense value to wealth management firms and can really cut down on the number of different applications firms need to integrate and advisors need to open. CRM systems offering Microsoft Outlook integration, for example, may allow e-mails to be seamlessly created and sent to clients or colleagues directly within the system, automatically appending them to the client record for clear communication tracking. Similarly, Microsoft Office integration can, for example, allow letters to be drafted using Microsoft Word and mail-merged with CRM contact data, all without leaving the CRM system. Another Microsoft application that is growing in importance and utility for financial services firms is Microsoft SharePoint; built-in integration between it and the CRM system allows a broad range of files and documents to be stored in an organized fashion along with client records. For example, a scan of a hand-written KYC form or signed Investment Policy Statement could be easily stored in a SharePoint library associated with a specific client and available right there in the CRM system. Pre-built integrations with these intuitive and familiar tools cut down on training time and dramatically limit the need to switch between programs, saving time and increasing efficiency.

As clients’ product interests have expanded and wealth management firms have moved to more product-agnostic fee-based models, the complex range of products with which advisors deal has expanded exponentially, making it hard for advisors to hold in-depth knowledge of all available product options. Integrating product information into the CRM system is thus a great way to provide advisors with easy access to rich product information when and where they need it: in the context of client interactions. By storing product information within the CRM system, advisors can instantly call up the facts and features they need to position offerings to clients and prospects. Some of the more advanced systems will allow flexible product components and features to be dynamically combined to fit client needs. Some CRM solutions also allow competitive intelligence to be stored within the system so that it is easily accessible at the point of sale. This enables the advisor to proactively compare proposed products with competitive offerings the client might be considering or overcome any objections, highlighting their product’s differentiators and comparative advantages. In some cases this could rule out the competition right from the outset, dramatically shortening sales cycles. Some CRM systems also allow for automated literature fulfillment, accelerating follow-up to clients with product documentation and materials.

In addition to integrating internal and external systems and data sources, the CRM system should give advisors a rich assortment of productivity tools, including personalized dashboards, lists of daily scheduled tasks, links to clients they need to call that day, alerts, and reporting tools. The system should also enable advisors to quickly find any information they need, such as a list of all clients with a certain product interest or hobby, using sophisticated built-in querying tools.

What should always be kept in mind in configuring the “turbo-charged” advisor desktop, of course, is the end goal of making advisors more effective, informed, and efficient in serving clients. Integration of client-centric tools and data into a centralized CRM hub helps advisors cut down on time spent hunting for information, entering duplicate data into multiple systems, switching between programs, or completing laborious administrative tasks, ultimately increasing the percentage of time they can spend on high-value client-facing activities.

Furthermore, by bringing all these tools and details together in the context of the client relationship management system, the firm establishes a client-centric infrastructure that always keeps the client front of mind.

Oracle’s Siebel Wealth Management CRM Solution

One of the pioneers -CRM Solution for Wealth Management Companies is powered by Siebel CRM solution from Oracle Corporation. Siebel CRM for Wealth Management companies is Full-featured, web-based CRM solution that is easy to use and quick to deploy. Siebel CRM helps sales, marketing, and customer service teams find new customers, close sales faster, and build more profitable relationships. With Powerful and tight front-to back-office integration across CRM and ERP for a true 360° view of customers

Unique Features of Siebel CRM for Wealth Management Companies include:-

Multiple Account Management: Unlike traditional Sales Organization where Client is usually assigned to one Account Manager, Wealth Management Companies assign separate relationship manager and financial adviser distributing duties between them. Siebel CRM for Wealth management companies allow you to assign multiple account managers for various activities

Client Induction and Check Process: Powerful workflow management capabilities allow you to define your own process to induce new client and makes sure that you capture all required information. Define your own logic, process and validation for client Induction process

Know Your Customer or KYC compliance: Mandatory and Flexible KYC definitions allow you to dynamically change and maintain KYC compliance required by Government Authorities. Powerful Escalation rules allow you to define leakage rules in KYC compliance management

Portfolio and Product Management: Unlike Securities Trading Companies, Wealth Management companies offer a comprehensive and dynamic of various investment instruments including equity, Mutual Funds, Gold ETFs, Arts and antiques and other investment avenues. Siebel CRM allows you to integrate with external Portfolio Management Systems to give you 360 degree view of your customer.

Relationships and Household Tree: Siebel CRM for Wealth Management Companies allow you to define family tree of your client, define relationship and setup complex security rules to allow cross access of Portfolio. An example would Father having access to Portfolio of his children and combined portfolio whereas Child only has access to own portfolio. Household tree also offers many up sale and cross sale opportunities for your sales team

Self Service: Self Service Allows your customers to log in your secure client portal and interact with your team for query resolution, complaint logging and monitoring and on top of it view his/her portfolio online! Secured multiple level security allows you to set complex to break yet simple to use online services for your customers.

Territory based Lead management: Siebel CRM allows you to define complex rules for automatic assignment of leads to your sales force; you can define rules based on Salesperson’s territory, specialization, portfolio size, product etc. Lead assignment engine works on top of your defined rules and does auto allocation of leads to be followed up.

These are some of the key features of Siebel and It has many more to give you the complete cover for Wealth Management CRM services.  Give your Advisor the Winning Edge with a CRM Solution All the Best
 
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