The wealth-management industry is undergoing huge changes in the wake of the financial crisis.
Even investors with financial advisers were hit by the drop in asset prices. And the industry is facing more upheaval because of the Retail Distribution Review, industry guidelines which prohibit commission being collected on any investment and pension products, which comes into force from the start of 2013.
That will lead more investors to start managing their own wealth. A study by Cisco last year found 49% of investors believed that the fees charged by wealth managers were too high and 40% believed that they could get better results on their own. The online investment market is developing to focus on the needs of wealthy under-fifties going online to invest.
“The survey affirmed our view that the UK retail investment market is ready for a change,” said Karsten Henriksen, head of Saxo Bank’s Modern Wealth Management in the UK. “Private investors would like to be empowered to make investment decisions themselves, and they are looking for relevant information, products and tools to support them in taking charge.”
Saxo Modern Wealth Management is a newly launched UK online investment platform for mid to long-term, self-directed investors, with clear value such as transparency, simplicity and trustworthiness. The objective has been to use technology to reduce the complexity of the financial world and empower investors to take charge of their own wealth.
