In a recent study, it was reported that external asset managers (EAMs) have relationships with an average of six custody banks – going up to 40, in some cases. With this in mind, it is essential EAMs have the tools to manage all their clients’ wealth. The same can be said for financial institutions whose asset managers want to offer a 360-degree service to their clients – in addition to targeting a newer audience with greater demands.

In the finance world, achieving a consolidated view of each wealth client is crucial in delivering value-adding, competitive and, ultimately, successful wealth management services. However, getting there is cumbersome, delicate and expensive, in part down to the industry having yet to adopt a standard for interchanging positions and transactions. Even now, custody banks have their own protocol – sometimes inspired by overall standards like SWIFT – but, nevertheless, delivered in a unique manner.

And so, to compete in wealth management means providing a robust mechanism for consolidation of client positions. Wealth managers must also provide an accurate calculation of the overall performance, offering in-depth insights for a number of different scenarios and outcomes. By delivering this type of “concentrator” service, front-office staff can focus on the client offering instead of clerical work.

“Today, banks are rediscovering the benefit of accessing external custodian data to provide better or new services to their private or institutional clients.”

Assetmax