Personalization: The Evolving Path of Wealth Management

When my wife and I dine out our ordering experiences could not be more dissimilar. I rarely deviate from the meal’s preparation, whereas my wife takes 3-5 minutes to walk through all the potential customizations, choosing her favorite options. Our dining variations are emblematic of the growing desire for personalization, which has accelerated over these past two years as people reflect more passionately, about what is most important to them.

We see the same trend occurring in the financial services industry, where investors want their money to align with their values, even if at the cost of higher returns. Investors no longer want to fit in the same neat boxes as everybody else; they need a portfolio that feels tailored to them. However, the reality of this evolution puts an added strain on the advisor to support personalization at scale. SS&C’s Black Diamond Wealth Platform is a conduit to assist advisors with these conversations by helping them build a complete balance sheet, capturing client preferences, and ultimately implementing the customization investors are craving.

To have a comprehensive conversation with clients, advisors must have a complete picture of their financial lives, covering everything from investments to loans to insurance and everything in between. However, it can be tedious for advisors to consolidate this information, so to alleviate this burden, Black Diamond invests in aggregation tools like Plaid or ByAllAccounts that help advisors easily build out their client’s balance sheet. The platform also plans to capture richer data around asset types like stock options and annuities that are critical parts of a client’s financial health. Additionally, the platform is taking steps to have ESG investment data available for advisors to spark conversations with their clients about where they are and ultimately want to be. 

With this information at an advisor’s disposal, they are now prepared to talk with their client about their financial future. Traditionally, advisors used financial planning tools to paint a roadmap for clients outlining the steps they needed to take to reach their goals. The Black Diamond product team dedicates resources to making this a more central aspect of the overall client experience. We help assure the client that not only are they on track to meet their goals, but they are going to do so in a way that also aligns with their values. Once an advisor knows where their client stands today and where they ultimately want to be, they need tools to ensure they stay on track. Firms can leverage Black Diamond’s Rebalancer application in this instance as it helps determine what model a client should be in, what companies they may want to steer away from, and what ESG rating they should have. As advisory firms capture more of this information, they can ensure client preferences are acknowledged. Customization is tricky and requires the right financial tools to create efficiencies, leading to an overall better client experience.

The Black Diamond Wealth Platform creates a bespoke experience for advisors and in turn their clients. Request a personalized demo today to see firsthand how the platform can support investors growing customization needs.