Overview
- Accenture conducted in-depth research on wealth management in Asia, covering affluent clients, relationship managers (RMs) and CXOs across eight markets.
- Wealth management firms foresee strong growth, aiming to nearly double assets under management (AUM) by 2025.
- Achieving this goal could be at risk if firms are unable to meet both the demands of existing and potential clients and their relationship managers.
- According to the research, the largest proportion (40%) of clients want advice-based solutions and RMs request more data insights and better tools.
- Wealth managers in the winner’s circle will be those that transform to give investors and RMs what they need as part of next-generation advisory.
Facing heightened market volatility, firms with robust advisory offerings are better positioned to become investors’ wealth managers of choice. Investors also show strong demand for digital assets and ESG solutions.
As wealth management firms target growth opportunities in Asia during a more challenging market environment, investors in the region increasingly want more financial advisory services from their primary wealth managers.
The Future of Asia Wealth Management report is based on two surveys — one of approximately 3,200 investors and another of more than 500 financial advisors at wealth management firms in Asia, as well as interviews with senior wealth executives.
The report found that investors are more interested in receiving advisory services from their wealth firm than a self-directed approach where they make investment decisions themselves and use wealth firms just to execute their trades. This desire for more financial advice could lead investors to move assets, with firms that have robust advice offerings more likely to become investors’ primary wealth manager and secure more assets under management.
Research methodology
For the report, Accenture conducted two surveys — one of approximately 3,200 investors and another of more than 550 financial advisors at private banks, captive wealth firms, retail banks and independent wealth firms in Asia and interviewed 21 C-level executives at wealth firms and private banks operating across the region. The surveys were conducted in December 2021 and January 2022, and the interviews in early 2022. Investor respondents worked with at least one wealth management firm and had investable assets ranging from at least US$100,000 to more than US$5 million. Respondents for both surveys were from the following markets: China (mainland), China (Hong Kong SAR), India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.
