Covid-19 has necessitated the digitisation of services and experiences, fast-tracking digital transformation across all industries including financial services. Investors increasingly expect to be able to “swipe right” to select new products and providers, with much the same ease as securing a date on Tinder.

Whilst face-to-face contact has been prohibited, Enhance has turned increasingly to technology to market our services and interact with new and existing clients. Pleasingly our digital strategy has piqued the interest of many investors, resulting in a broad variety of “first-dates” and “reconnections” via one of the many video conferencing platforms available.

One such reconnection has led to our appointment as investment consultant to a young and dynamic entrepreneur who, like many of us, uses the smartphone as an essential tool for managing their day-to-day life. It was made clear from the beginning that this client was tech-savvy and expected to receive a digitalised investment solution. 

We find that entrepreneurs are excellent at generating and accumulating wealth, often collecting multiple investment products and service providers over time, but lack a cohesive investment strategy and mechanism to monitor and manage their net worth. Typically, this results in an unnecessarily complex, expensive and unsuitable investment portfolio.

Upon appointment, we undertook a comprehensive review of the client’s assets, liabilities and income to create a family balance sheet and income statement. We then conducted an investment objectives evaluation exercise to establish reasonable return, risk, income and service level expectations from a holistic investment arrangement.

This fact-finding process led to our recommendation to employ a Private Bank to act as a “one-stop-shop” for the client; providing traditional banking services including Lombard lending, financial planning and discretionary investment management for personal assets, and a global custody solution for third-party asset management, all delivered via a single platform and online portal.

We are currently finalising the appointment of a Private Bank to deliver this service, with candidates being evaluated as much on their ability to provide a holistic wealth hub and digital client experience as they are on the competitiveness of their banking and investment offerings. Many otherwise excellent Private Banks have been discounted due to their compartmentalised offering and/or lack of robust digital solution.

So, while we have not yet met this client in person, technology has enabled us to source, secure and service an important new relationship and formed a central requirement in our provider search and selection process. We expect this trend to continue in the future, notwithstanding the lifting of social restrictions as the world emerges from the pandemic.