67% of APAC ultra-wealthy investors still seek human advisors

A study suggested that over-digitalisation could alienate investors.

Amidst the prevalence of wealth management firms looking to partner with or build their own robo-advisors to offer better financial advice to customers, a study by data and analytics firm GlobalData found that 67% of mass affluent investors in Asia Pacific still see the importance of having access to a human advisor or consultant.

“This shows the importance of the human aspect of wealth management services. If client-facing processes become overdigitalised it could alienate this large population of investors,” Oliver Wintle, wealth management analyst at GlobalData, noted.

As the use of technology aid processes, Wintle suggested that a hybrid approach combining digital tools with face-to-face contact is the best possible way of managing investment and to attract and retain the mass affluent segment.

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The same study also found that 40% of millennials in Asia-Pacific were contacting their wealth managers via a chat application in Q2 2018.