Compelling, impactful, significant.
Those are just some of the factors Alois Pirker, research director for Aite Group, said went into consideration for choosing the winners of the research and advisory firm’s 2021 Digital Wealth Management Impact Innovation Awards.
In its second year, the awards recognize and celebrate the industry’s top financial services firms in six different categories.
Pirker said the award recipients, which are industry leaders one step closer to establishing next-generation financial services, are chosen qualitatively rather than quantitatively, explaining that it’s hard to score digital excellence.
The coronavirus pandemic has been an impetus for advancing digital strategies across the board over the past 18 months, he said.
“This has really been a catalyst for pushing that area forward, and that acceleration won’t stop with the pandemic,” Pirker said.
Merrill Lynch Wealth Management won for advisor-focused in digital client engagement due to its
Kabir Sethi, head of digital at Merrill Lynch, said the company released a
Additionally, the wirehouse is expanding the capabilities of a virtual assistant, where an advisory client not only types the question online but also gets a step-by-step response.
Merrill Lynch also uses computer-collected and analyzed client insights from all Bank of America customers as a simple way to counsel advisors on their clients’ preferences based on the activity that's taking place, thus establishing patterns that reveal what their clients’ needs.
“Some of our most powerful insights have been on those lines. Guidance is the most meaningful thing that the advisors apply,” Sethi said.
Ameriprise Financial won for client-focused in digital client engagement due to the brokerage’s ability to provide its clients with “good advice” through its use of InvestCloud, a California-based design and software company that offers financial applets and portfolio management solutions.
"Advice is central to what we do and we’re passionate about providing it to each and every Ameriprise client," said Jamie Wanless, senior vice president of the Ameriprise Advisor Center, said in a statement.
The company uses "industry-leading capabilities," such as InvestCloud, to deliver comprehensive advice, customized to reflect its Confident Retirement Virtual Experience, which virtually connects investors with advisors.
The experience meets the needs of clients who want virtual, flexible and affordable personalized advice to support their financial goals, Wanless said.
Hightower Advisors won for sales enablement/prospecting because of its partnership with Snappy Kraken, a marketing automation for financial advisors, thus allowing Hightower advisors to better engage with clients and prospects, according to Pirker.
Meghan McCartan, Hightower’s managing director and head of marketing, said Snappy Kraken is the technology underlying the Engage platform, but all of the content and cadence of campaigns are exclusive to Hightower.
Hightower believes content is the key to marketing and tries to pull together the market-related and economy-related content, along with life planning financial advice, in various streams to help advisors grow their business through prospects and referrals.
“The content we're putting out there is pretty sophisticated, but advisors can customize it to their own voice, to their own brands. And so that's allowing them to focus on these client conversations with really strong support backing them up,” she said.
IQvestment, BrightPlan, Morgan Stanley Wealth Management Investment Solutions, BNP Paribas Wealth Management, Formue and SEBA Bank also won awards.
The awards will be presented during Aite Group’s Digital Innovation in Wealth Management Forum, taking place virtually on June 17.
