Majority of (88%) of wealth managers and advisers are increasing their clients’ exposure to overseas assets, to enhance portfolio diversification, according to research from Ortec Finance.
The global study of wealth managers, portfolio managers, advisers and financial planners also found that 90% expect the trend to international diversification to increase slightly over the next three years.
Some 3% anticipate a dramatic increase.
More than one fifth (22%) of respondents rated their ability to forecast how asset classes will behave as ‘excellent’, with 63% describing their skills in this area as ‘good.’
However, 69% of wealth managers and advisers said they are planning to ‘slightly increase’ investment in solutions to help them understand asset-calls performance in the future, while more than a quarter (27%) are looking to do so on a larger scale.
Need to service clients more efficiently
Wealth managers and advisers said that the biggest motivator for increasing their investment in tools to improve investment analysis is the need to service clients more efficiently.
More than half (58%) reported that this is the top priority. The other main drivers towards investment in analytical tools included increasing client demand for analysis; to secure business growth and client retention; and to reduce costs and improve efficiency levels.
Ronald Janssen, managing director at Ortec Finance, said: “Diversification is critical to ensuring investors spread risk and limit impacts of market volatility, and investing across different geographies opens up new opportunities and further enables diversification.
“But if wealth managers and advisers are using the goals-based investing approach, aiming to truly help clients and ensure they meet their expectations, they should seriously consider investing in reliable systems and models to help make better investment decisions.”
