High-net-worth wealth managers can't survive the digital age on just 'their name and wood paneling'
Everyone knows that one person who drinks Starbucks' coffee just so they can be seen holding a white cup with a green mermaid on it.
On Wall Street, brands can carry similar weight. Many high-net-worth investors give their money to old legacy money managers just because of the brand of prestige and elitism associated with such firms.
But these firms' reputations will only go so far as the Street continues to digitize, according to Gauthier Vincent, a fintech expert and consultant at Deloitte.
Vincent sees a lot of complacency among the old guard high-net-worth money mangers. He delivered a presentation on Thursday about the future of the wealth management industry at this year's Exponential Finance conference, a financial technology conference hosted by Singularity University, a global network of tech thought leaders.
After his presentation he told Business Insider that the majority of high-net-worth money managers are ignoring Wall Street's wave of digitalization.
"The majority of firms think they can ignore digital, but they can't just survive on their name and wood paneling," Vincent said."They're being complacent because their assets are going up with the markets."
But this won't last forever. Vincent said many firms are seeing their customers run off to firms with more digital offerings. And that run-off will continue to increase as wealth transfers from older generations to younger ones.
"If they don't act know then they are going to lose a whole generation," Vincent said.
High-net-worth money managers, you've been warned.