Adam Weston 0:16 OK, welcome everyone. My name is Adam Weston. Welcome to the "Defining Wealth for a New Generation" webinar. I'm the CMO of Invessed. I've spent 20 years as an agency owner working across financial services for companies like Momentum, Quilter, and Quintet Private Bank. Theo, over to you.
Theo Paraskevopoulos 0:37 Good morning, everyone. I'm Theo Paraskevopoulos, chief executive and product strategist at Invessed. My career began about 20 years ago in the City of London, and I've been working in fintech and financial services ever since. If there's been one constant, it's the frenetic pace of change. We built Invessed to design a product that helps investors and ment professionals support each other and stay in control. In the process, we also developed this survey that offers insights into how investors might be thinking.
I'm looking forward to discussing these findings with you today.
Adam Weston 1:17 So, let's dive in. The objectives for this webinar are threefold:
- We'll discuss the key findings from the 2024 Client Engagement survey.
- We'll explore how younger generations perceive and engage with wealth management.
- We'll highlight the challenges and opportunities for wealth managers engaging these demographics.
The webinar will run for 45 minutes, with 30 minutes focused on the survey results. So, plug in your headphones and settle in. I know you've got plenty on your plate, but we've structured the webinar to keep you engaged throughout. We'll wrap up with a 15-minute audience Q&A.
The survey link is in the chat, and we're also inviting you to sign up for a personalized demo of the Invessed platform. Feel free to use the chat for questions; we'll address them at the end.
Now, about the survey. Invessed partnered with YouGov to conduct a client engagement survey in early March. We polled 2,068 UK adults on five key points:
- Their comfort level with investing
- Saving habits
- Methods of tracking investments
- Feelings about their financial future
- Plans to seek professional investment advice in the next five years
All responses were anonymous, and the results provided fantastic insights into how Gen X, Z, and millennials approach investing and money management.
Before we dive deeper, let's kick things off with a quick icebreaker poll. Polina has dropped it in the chat. You'll get instant feedback, and we might review the results during the Q&A.
Alright, Theo, let's get into the survey insights. Our findings show that 42% of younger investors are uncomfortable with basic investing principles. What do you think are the main factors contributing to this discomfort among the younger generation?
Theo Paraskevopoulos 3:27 Yeah, in one phrase, you can summarise this as problematically low financial literacy. It starts with families, continues at school, and permeates the media. Here's what's worrying me: there's a lot of conversation about one part of finance - personal loans, credit cards, mortgages. These are part of everyday language. Payments too. You have your Apple Pay, your Google Pay, and all sorts of ways to transact. But you don't have the same level of language and awareness regarding investing—things like bonds, basic stock market language, ETFs. They're not part of our everyday vocabulary, which indicates why people might not feel comfortable investing.
Now, there's something specific about investing compared to other financial services: uncertainty. With a loan or mortgage, you draw down and pay it off at the end—there's a plan. With investing, you're talking about uncertainty in performance and how it might impact wealth building. It's not guaranteed, and that's harder to discuss.
We need to help younger people get more comfortable speaking about these terms and planning their future. In some ways, it's about having a lot of choices but not enough advice. Sometimes, the advice needs to be more relevant. And in my mind - you and I are fathers of teenagers - it's also partly about career orientation. This is another problematic area where a lot of data is out there, but advice can be lacking. When younger people embark on this lifelong journey, they might not have enough access to professional advice to help them make the right decisions.
Adam Weston 5:20 Mm-hmm.
Theo Paraskevopoulos 5:30 They might not have enough access to professional advice, which will help them make the right decisions at the outset.
Adam Weston 5:38 But where does this stem from, Theo? Is it a lack of financial education in our educational systems, or should we prioritise financial literacy coming directly from wealth managers? What's your take on this?
Theo Paraskevopoulos 5:55 It starts with the family, schools, and media. This is where we'd begin as a society rather than relying on specific companies' efforts. While the industry does provide quite a lot of education, as you'd expect, unless someone has that foundational financial and investment literacy, they won't seek out an investment manager's or wealth manager's website for specialized information. We need to start with the basics.
Theo Paraskevopoulos 6:26 Compound interest. What do interest rates mean for me? How do I differentiate between saving and investing? When should I consider one over the other? These are really foundational concepts.
Adam Weston 6:36 Based on the numbers we've seen in the survey, do you think this lack of financial literacy is hindering younger generations? Is it preventing them from taking action with their finances?
Theo Paraskevopoulos 6:49 I wouldn't say paralysing—that's a bit strong. However, I'd say it's stopping them from taking the first step. It's preventing them from treating wealth accumulation and investment as priorities. They've got a million other things to take care of.
Adam Weston 6:52 Yes, that's quite a strong statement.
Theo Paraskevopoulos 7:12 As a young person, you're juggling numerous priorities - having fun, pursuing education, and starting a family. There are a million things on your plate. Due to low financial literacy, investments don't reach the top of that priority list.
Adam Weston 7:26 Alright, that's great. Thanks, Theo. Let's move on. We found that 47% of Gen Z, Gen X, and Millennials typically save nothing or invest less than 5% of their monthly income. Theo, what does this tell us about the financial habits of younger generations, and what implications might this have for their long-term financial well-being?
Theo Paraskevopoulos 7:51 Well, it's typical for someone starting their investment journey—or life journey, if you will. They go through a fairly predictable cycle. When you're young, you tend to spend a lot on education, travel, and having fun. It's understandable. Then, you enter a period of accumulation, where you start building wealth. This is followed by a preservation phase, where you focus on avoiding losses. Finally, you reach what we sometimes euphemistically call the distribution phase when you're dealing with legacy, inheritance, and using your savings for retirement.
The issue here is that as younger investors move from the spending phase to the accumulation and preservation stages, they're not accumulating enough, and they're not starting early enough. They're not comfortable with the process, and they're not making the right basic decisions. We're not talking about advanced strategies like stock picking or complex portfolio modeling here. We're talking about simple steps like saving enough money and then—
Adam Weston 8:50 Mm-hmm. Yeah, sure.
Theo Paraskevopoulos 9:00 Moving from having enough savings to feel secure about your immediate needs to then investing the excess is crucial for wealth building. Without this transition, we risk raising a generation that's financially worse off than their parents—and that can have all sorts of implications.
Adam Weston 9:21 Okay, so this seems to be feeding back into what we were just discussing. What can we do to address this issue?
Theo Paraskevopoulos 9:22 So, what do we do about this? Well, as an industry, education is one aspect. The other crucial element is proving value. It's about communicating with younger investors in their language—in terms that are relevant and appropriate to them. We need to convey that they have all the tools necessary to save, and that there's a journey beyond saving into investing. We should encourage them to start as early as possible.
It's challenging to motivate younger investors. As I mentioned, they're at the beginning of their financial cycle. However, there's much we can do. We can simplify the process, increase its visibility, and discuss it in terms of value. Ultimately, we need to make investing more relevant to their lives and goals.
Adam Weston 10:07 Mm-hmm. So, you're essentially saying we should develop strategies to encourage better saving and investing habits, right?
Theo Paraskevopoulos 10:27 Yeah, but not just. Not just. Leaving it to the apps, not just leaving it to the mobile phones. There's a lot of the industry has been doing, which is just to rely on DIY investments or to the to the banking industry to kind of to be the only channel. The only way that you can get it to invest in. But to actually do it as an industry, to not just focus on the older generation because that's where the wealth and the assets are now, but also to make sure that our language develops and we can work with younger generations.
Adam Weston 10:34 Huh. OK. And I suppose that has a big impact for the sort of the the world transfer from older generations to Gen X over the next few years, OK.
Theo Paraskevopoulos 11:08 Absolutely, this is. This is the point in time where we as an industry need to be able to talk to younger generations, not just because for the societal benefits, but because of self-interest, because there is a wall of money coming our way and you know, we want most of it.
Adam Weston 11:24 Yeah. OK. OK, that's great. The survey revealed that 61% of Gen X and millennials do not actively monitor their investments. What is this high percentage? Tell us about the level of engagement and financial literacy among the younger generation and the challenges this presents for wealth managers. So it's twofold there.
Theo Paraskevopoulos 11:51 Indeed, it does. Firstly, it reinforces the point about comfort. You won't engage with it when you're not at ease in a particular situation—you'll find all sorts of excuses. So, even if you have investments, you're not monitoring them. That's what the data is telling us.
It's crucial to note that we're aiming for a balance here. On the one hand, we want people to be engaged with their investments and monitor them regularly. On the other hand, we don't want it to be so intense that people become stressed or veer towards speculation. Our industry provides financial advice—a long-term investment and wealth-building plan you should stick with. Yes, we want engagement, but not to the point where it resembles gambling.
If people aren't engaging at all, that's an entirely different problem. It's a sign that things might be deteriorating—that the comfort level lacking for younger investors is worsening. It's almost as if they're burying their heads in the sand. They might think, "Maybe I'll get a pension from my employer, and then I'm just not going to look at it. I won't care because I don't understand it, and I want it to go away."
We need to address this. The more comfortable you are, the more you monitor your investments—it's a self-reinforcing cycle. We have to build on that relationship between comfort and engagement.
Adam Weston 13:12 Mm-hmm. Okay, so what are the challenges for wealth managers here? We've discussed the education gap, but let's consider the importance of regular investment monitoring and active financial management. How can these practices encourage younger generations? Keep in mind that we're talking about Gen X and millennials. Gen X isn't exactly young anymore, are they?
Theo Paraskevopoulos 13:43 No, I'm pretty young. I don't know about you.
Adam Weston 13:45 I'm pretty young, too, I suppose. So, what other strategies are we considering? Are we talking about integrating technology and leveraging digital tools? Or are we focusing on encouraging more meaningful interactions and higher engagement? What approaches should wealth managers take to meet these challenges, given that this generation isn't actively monitoring their investments?
Theo Paraskevopoulos 14:15 Clearly, we're not debating whether to use technology. By now, it's evident that technology is a given—it's the benchmark. What we're discussing is how to use technology effectively. There's a paradigm or example here in the banking industry's transition with technology. It used to be all about branches—you'd walk into one to deposit cash, process cheques, and handle other archaic instruments. Now, the industry has transitioned to a fully digital model.
Adam Weston 14:53 Mm-hmm.
Theo Paraskevopoulos 14:54 What's your journey? It's not going to happen overnight for wealth and investment managers. But it's a journey we need to take and accelerate. In the process, this will also help younger investors engage more with their investments. Imagine an experience-driven tool on your mobile phone that speaks your language, looks professional, and is relevant without condescending or trying to mimic a consumer app. It will be trusted and help drive engagement if it looks the part.
Adam Weston 15:31 Great, thanks. I'd like to introduce an audience reflection point—a new feature we're trying. It essentially poses a question for the audience to ponder, not necessarily to respond to immediately but to consider and perhaps address during the Q&A at the end of our session. So, our first reflection point is: How can you develop strategies to increase engagement and improve financial literacy among younger generations and your clients? Take a moment to mull that over.
Now, let's move on to our next point. The survey revealed that 51% of Theo respondents feel they have little or no control over their finances for the next five years. My question is: What does this tell us about younger generations' financial outlook, and how might this impact wealth managers?
Theo Paraskevopoulos 16:34 this is by far the most worrisome statistic to come out of the survey. Having no control when you have so much choice doesn't paint a nice picture. It's consistent with the findings—just over half of everyone surveyed is uncomfortable with some or all aspects of wealth building. This should instill a sense of urgency in the industry. If people feel they have no control, they don't know where to start. And that's even worse, especially when there's so much choice available. When you open your bank—
Adam Weston 16:57 Mm-hmm.
Theo Paraskevopoulos 17:16 By now, I've got about five or six banking apps on my phone, and they all offer me an avenue into investing. In theory, there are all these wonderful tools to control my financial future—I can manage my savings, move into investments, and have various ways to do so. But if you feel you've got no control when so many choices are available, it means that choice isn't serving you. It's not serving as an avenue into the world of investments. In fact, it might confuse you and hold you back.
Adam Weston 17:25 Mm-hmm.
Theo Paraskevopoulos 17:47 This is why professional financial advisors have an edge over banking, DIY apps, or your own broker apps. Now is the time for the wealth management and financial advice industry to shine—to demonstrate its value to younger investors.
Adam Weston 17:58 Mm. What about shorter-term financial goals? Could those be helpful? You know, we're thinking in terms of decades for really young investors, millennials. Maybe that feels—I mean, it's speculation on my part—but maybe that feels like something so far in the future that they're thinking more about short-term gains and dipping their toe into investments beyond their pensions.
Theo Paraskevopoulos 18:37 Yes, indeed. That's exactly how you get started—it's your nudge, if you will. Your first step in this journey. You begin with short-term plans: a holiday, a deposit for a house, a car you want to buy—all these things. So first, you start by setting goals for which you save, and there are many savings products out there to help with this. Then you progress to medium-term goals, like university fees or expenses as your family grows. Finally, you tackle the really long-term goals, which is where the wealth industry needs to step in and assist you. So yes, absolutely—the longevity of the goals is crucial.
Adam Weston 18:55 Mm-hmm.
Theo Paraskevopoulos 19:18 What interests we should be using to make things more relevant depends on the age group we're targeting. Currently, our industry isn't doing a great job of targeting the younger generations.
Adam Weston 19:31 Yeah, just as a caveat, the survey spans Gen X and millennials. That's quite a wide audience in terms of age groups. Nevertheless, all the data has come back and feels pretty tight in terms of what we're allowed to disseminate and share with everyone as an organization, and YouGov collecting that data. So, let's look at this: the survey found that 56% of younger generations are unlikely to seek investment advice in the next five years. Why do you think that's the case, and what can wealth managers do to address this reluctance?
Theo Paraskevopoulos 20:18 Yes, I think we need to address three key challenges head-on, and I'll be blunt here: There are three main issues. First, they don't know about us. Second, they're intimidated by us. And third, they think we're too expensive. Let's start with awareness. You've got all this technology on your phone, on your laptop, whatever it is. And yet you might not realize that professional advice and wealth management are available at your price point. You might assume it's something only for—
Theo Paraskevopoulos 20:48 Something we call "high net worth individuals," whatever that means or however high "high" is. But professional advice is available to you, so we need to work on awareness. The second issue is the language we use. If we as an industry continue to present our services in such a data-driven or data-only way—which can be quite intimidating—we alienate people, especially younger generations. As we've already discussed, they have low financial literacy and haven't developed that language. So if we start talking about performance, asset allocation, and portfolio modeling right off the bat, there's no way younger people are going to engage. The third issue is cost. Even if someone goes through the journey and engages a wealth manager,
Adam Weston 21:35 Mm-hmm.
Theo Paraskevopoulos 21:39 Charging one percent or more of assets to manage a portfolio isn't going to work. It's simply not competitive for most younger people—and I include Gen Y plus most Gen X's here. We need to find a way to cater to different market segments: the affluent, the mass affluent, and basically people who are just beginning their wealth journey. We need to use technology to provide our services at a lower price point. The 0.25% that's been bandied about? I'd go even lower for certain market segments. There's a mass market out there—millions in terms of mass outflow—that we can work with. We don't need to send them all to DIY tools. We can provide professional financial advice to these market segments as well.
Adam Weston 22:31 Right. So that's the key difference you're talking about. We've got DIY tools and robo-advisors on one side, and wealth managers on the other. What we're saying is that the usage percentage for DIY tools is quite low—I believe it's about 2% globally. In contrast, 98% of the world's wealth is managed by professional wealth managers. That's a significant difference.
Theo Paraskevopoulos 22:46 OK.
Adam Weston 22:53 But how can we enable wealth managers to target that market with a range of different price points? "Encourage" isn't quite the right word here.
Theo Paraskevopoulos23:10 And the key factor here is technology, including Invessed. Of course, it's designed to be a crucial aspect of that technological solution.
Adam Weston 23:13 OK.
Theo Paraskevopoulos 23:18 The traditional wealth management service—you know, meeting clients in a big, shiny office with sharp edges and suits—will persist, but it can't be the only way we deliver services. We must transition to a multi-channel world. Sure, ultra-high-net-worth clients might still prefer boardroom meetings, but we need to offer solutions for younger clients and those with smaller portfolios. These clients will primarily, if not exclusively, be serviced through digital channels. The key is to ensure you have a "digital twin," so to speak, of your entire company.
Adam Weston 23:56 Mm-Hmm.
Theo Paraskevopoulos 24:12 In the digital realm, you need to be able to do online anything you'd typically do offline or on paper in the office. Create a digital twin of your business, and all sorts of avenues will open up for your customers.
Adam Weston 24:25 Great. I want to present my second reflection point to the audience: How can your firm adapt its services and communication strategies to better appeal to younger investors? Take a moment to consider that.
Now, let's discuss the preferred methods for tracking investments among younger investors who monitor their portfolios. Theo, what are your thoughts on this? I have some statistics we can review first.
According to our survey, 26% use self-investing apps, 12% use reports like PDFs to track their investments, and 6% utilize adviser-client portals.
Theo, based on these findings, how can wealth managers better engage younger investors?
Theo Paraskevopoulos 25:25 I'm advocating for the client portal as the most important statistic. Once you have people's attention in the client portal—your organisation's branded digital environment—you can work with them more effectively. You can service them more deeply and intensely. A mobile-first experience is a must. It has to provide an elegant, simplified expertise on par with all other financial services. No matter how small your company is, there's now no excuse for a clunky, outdated client portal or one that doesn't work on mobile. It simply won't capture a share of mind or attention. Assuming you have the portal, the second task is to use these nudges, tools, prompts, notifications, content points, touch points—whatever you want to call them—to engage clients.
Adam Weston 26:10 Mm-hmm.
Theo Paraskevopoulos26:24 Don't overdo it but aim to capture attention and engage people, making them comfortable. Engage them to a level where they know their portfolio and investment targets without causing undue worry. The third point I'd include here is to assume the experience will be shared, especially with younger generations—we're entering the social realm a bit. Millennials, for example, will likely share their experience with financial advisers and wealth managers. It could be on social media or directly with friends. So, when presenting yourself on social platforms, strike a tone that's both professional and authentic. This way, you can be part of that conversation. I caution against trying to emulate consumer trends or adopting influencer language—it won't work, and there's no point in forcing it. "Professional yet authentic" is the best way I can describe how a financial services company should present itself in the social world.
Adam Weston 27:29 Mm. Okay, great. Thank you. Now, I've got a final reflection point here. What strategies have you and your teams found effective in engaging younger investors? I'd be interested to know what works and what doesn't from the audience. If we could share that in some way, it would be brilliant.
Next question: Theo, what implications do our survey findings have for the future of wealth management? We've discussed this a lot, but could you give us an overview or summary?
Theo Paraskevopoulos 28:12 I'll try to strike a more optimistic tone as we approach the end of our survey discussion. Overall, the survey paints a rather pessimistic picture—we're not engaging with younger investors as effectively as we should. Many don't understand our industry, aren't engaged, and don't feel in control. This negative feedback comes from over half of those we surveyed. However, there's a silver lining: under half feel more optimistic about working with financial advisors and wealth managers. So, let's focus on what we did right there and build on that.
Adam Weston 28:47 Mm-hmm.
Theo Paraskevopoulos 29:01 But the survey is actually a snapshot of the audience against an industry in flux. As I mentioned initially, the only constant is relentless change, and the bigger picture here is crucial. Over the last two decades, much innovation in the industry has focused on disintermediating financial advisors. You know, the DIY technology, investment apps, embedded investments in banking apps—all this technology seems intent on elbowing away professional advisors and wealth managers. And yet, this same technology is available to us in the wealth management industry. We can do much better.
One of the tenets in the tech world is that the Holy Grail is to use technology to offer 80% of the service for 20% of the cost. If you can achieve that, you can service a much wider audience. I'm talking about the affluent and mass affluent segment, which, of course, includes all the younger investors. They're just starting on their journey. They don't want a full service; they don't want to come to your office and sip your coffee. They want to engage primarily digitally. So, 80% of the service focuses on investments and investment advice—not the frills, but the core investment advice. Then, you deliver that at 20% of the cost, usually through technology. We think this is possible. It's why we built Invessed the way we have. But the upshot...
Adam Weston 30:40 So we're essentially talking about scalability, aren't we?
Theo Paraskevopoulos 30:42 Absolutely. We're talking about scale and scalability. The opportunity here is for wealth managers to use this same technology to reclaim market share, build customer loyalty, and gain traction with younger investors. This positions them well to work with these younger clients as they come into their own and inherit wealth from previous generations. Now is the time to act.
Adam Weston 30:47 Mm-hmm. Okay, great. Thanks, Theo. That brings us to the end of the first part of the webinar. We'll have a Q&A session after I do a quick recap. If you have any questions, please put them in the chat, and we'll address them. We've got two or three questions that have been submitted already, so I'll run through those if nothing else appears. And thanks again, Theo, for your insights.
Let me recap a few key points:
There's a significant gap in comfort and engagement with wealth management among younger generations born after 1965. This lack of engagement is characterized by limited financial literacy, low savings or investment habits, and infrequent investment monitoring. High fees and a preference for self-management deter younger investors from seeking professional advice.
Wealth managers can adapt their practices to meet the needs of younger investors through simplified language, financial literacy initiatives, digital-first approaches, coaching services, and, of course, transparent fees.
While males tend to be more comfortable with investment principles—something we didn't quite pick up on, Theo, but it was evident in the data—both genders face similar challenges in controlling finances and seeking professional advice.
Finally, to better engage investors, wealth managers can create a more inclusive and accessible wealth management landscape that addresses the unique needs and challenges of younger generations.
That's the overview and recap. Of course, you can access the full survey through the link in the chat and on the Invessed.com website.
We haven't received any attendee questions through the meeting chat yet, but let me check if there's anything else.
Polina Gulei 33:14 Alright, I'll jump in here. We have two questions in the Q&A section. I believe the first one has already been addressed, but Theo, if you could briefly summarize and perhaps add any additional thoughts regarding this topic, that would be great.
Polina Gulei 33:36 Mario asks the first question: "How can we attract younger generations to asset management services?" We've covered this topic, but perhaps you could add some insights or provide a summary.
Theo Paraskevopoulos 33:51 I'll revisit the three key points because I believe it's crucial to emphasize, underline, and highlight in very stark terms: awareness, complexity, and price. They don't know about us, are intimidated by our language, and think we're too expensive. We need to address all three of these issues.
First, we must inform people that they have access to helpful, friendly professionals like us. Our industry has amazing people with excellent interpersonal skills. Anyone who's sat down with financial advisors knows how empathetic they can be—we need to convey that. We need to let younger people know these resources are available to them.
We shouldn't be so quick to jump into numbers when we do reach out. There's a narrative approach that can be a significant part of our discourse. We can say, "You're here now. This is where you're trying to get to." We can discuss short-term goals, medium-term goals, and life goals. Let's figure out where you are now, what tools are available, and how we can get you to that outcome.
The third point is pricing. Once we've outlined a plan for you, we can explain what it will take and cost for a professional like me to guide you through this journey. We can be transparent about it. Here's what it will cost, but we also need to find a way to use primarily digital technology to lower that cost. We can achieve this through scalability - working with a larger number of clients and providing 80% of the service quality at 20% of the price point. That's the promise of technology.
Polina Gulei 35:41 Thank you so much. Now we have another question. The second one asks: Could younger generations be reluctant because they feel they may not be taken seriously by asset managers?
Adam Weston 35:42 Thanks very much.
Theo Paraskevopoulos 35:53 Yes, absolutely. I've certainly encountered that attitude. It reflects the fact that most investable assets are concentrated among older generations. Consequently, many investment professionals, who tend to be of a certain age, might say, "I'm going to focus on this market segment where all the assets under management are. I want to concentrate on that segment and can't be bothered to explain things in simpler terms." But we can change that. There's no reason to be condescending towards people just starting their investment journey. After all, we've all been young. We need to cast our minds back and think about what life was like then. How thankful would we have been for access to these resources back then? Those of us who did have such access are grateful because we started investing earlier.
Polina Gulei 37:10 Thank you so much. We have another question: "Can you explain further how wealth managers use digital twins for client experience, access, and service? Is there anything you can add or elaborate on regarding this topic?"
Theo Paraskevopoulos 37:25 Yes. So, this is a very interesting concept that originates in healthcare. You have yourself and a digital twin, essentially a digital representation of your physical self—your body. This allows for procedures, diagnoses, and treatments to be tested and optimized on your digital twin first. It's a similar concept in wealth management.
In a wealth management firm, we have the offline firm—the actual professional advisors, operations, brand, and all these elements that have existed even in traditional firms. Then you've got a digital aspect or copy of that operation. The key here is that this only works if the twin is true. This means everything you do, every operation, every brand touchpoint that exists in the offline world, you replicate in the digital world. This covers everything from onboarding to communication to your catch-up meetings—every brand touchpoint offline should be available in the digital world.
The second crucial point is that you can measure everything with digital twins. While measuring things offline is difficult, once you have a digital twin, you can access rich analytics and data. You can measure, make decisions, and understand your single customer view much more quickly. All these insights are available much more readily in the digital space.
Adam Weston 39:21 Theo, can you give us an example of how we might use insights and analytics to better understand our clients? What use case do you have in mind?
Theo Paraskevopoulos 39:31 Yes, absolutely. One of my favorite things about analytics is understanding the customer beyond their risk profile or what a 10-question questionnaire tells you about their risk appetite. Typically, when you onboard a client, you might ask 10, 15, or 20 questions and say, "Based on what you've told me, I'm going to give you a score of three and design a portfolio accordingly." However, as time goes by, someone's risk profile changes. The way they engage with you in a client portal or app can provide much richer statistics, understanding, or insight into their actual risk profile. In other words, an individual's risk profile differs based on what they do rather than what they say. You can only ascertain this through your digital twin, using analytics. Based on that, you'll obviously take action if someone is engaging with the portal or your app in a way that's not in sync with what you think their risk profile is. At that point, it's time to act.
Adam Weston 40:44 Excellent, thank you. Are there any more questions in the chat, Polina?
Polina Gulei 40:51 That's all our questions for now, but please feel free to submit any others.
Adam Weston 40:52 Okay, I've got one more question for you, Theo. You've touched on this, but I'd like a more straightforward, succinct answer for clarity. How can wealth managers bridge the gap between traditional financial advice and the digital-first preferences of younger generations?
Theo Paraskevopoulos 41:06 There was a technology gap. Let's look at banking again. Initially, it was offline - you had a branch. Gradually, more services moved online until it became digital-first, and now it's often digital-only. In wealth management, as an empathetic, people-focused industry, we won't go that far - and we shouldn't. DIY robo apps will cater to those who want a fully digital experience. We're not eliminating the in-person channel, but we'll treat it as one of many channels. As new customers, especially younger generations, come in, some might become digital-only clients, while others will use both digital and in-person services. This way, the gap will close naturally. We need to adopt an omnichannel approach, like in retail. It's not just about in-person or digital—it's about using all the channels our customers prefer.
Adam Weston 42:13 Mm-hmm. Okay, great stuff. Thank you. Well, that brings us to the end of this webinar. I want to thank everyone who came along for the journey, and I really hope it's been helpful. If you have any questions in the future, please reach out to us—either directly on LinkedIn or through Polina. I'm sure she'll be in touch. We'll send a link for the survey to everyone who hasn't received it yet. We invite you all to come and have a demo with us at Invessed and see what we can do to bridge that gap between traditional advice and digital-first preferences. Thank you very much, everyone, for coming on board. Hopefully, we'll see you next time.
Adam Weston 43:25 Bye, everyone. Bye.