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data-via="xignite" data-text="Top 5 Wealth Management Technology

Challenges Addressed by the Cloud"

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alt="" width="250" height="150" />As market data volumes

continue to grow exponentially, so too does the burden on wealth

managers and financial advisors to identify ways to harness the

power of market data and transform it into a meaningful

competitive advantage. What's required is a cohesive market data

management strategy that not only simplifies internal operations,

but also lays the groundwork for tools that enhance engagement

with customers.

Introducing the

market data cloud

Cloud

technology available today is transforming the way wealth

managers and financial advisors manage market data across the

enterprise and communicate with clients. Market data clouds

enable firms to bypass the sizeable investments in

infrastructure, hardware, software, and maintenance that are

typically associated with traditional datafeeds. A cloud-based

market data management solution helps firms gain economies of

scale, lower costs, and increase agility.

Below are five wealth management technology challenges

that are addressed by the adoption of a cloud-based data

management solution. Future posts in this series will expand on

each of these areas.

Wealth management

technology challenge #1

Simplifying data

management

The daily flood of market data

shows no sign of slowing down-in fact, experts project it to

accelerate in the coming years. This means that a market data

solution must easily scale to meet the

needs of tomorrow.

A cloud-based market data

solution reduces data management frustrations. The headaches of

integrating traditional datafeeds -flat file processing, data

cleansing and parsing, network infrastructure, and ongoing system

maintenance-disappear with cloud APIs that deliver market data

directly to end-user applications.

Wealth

management technology challenge #2

Developing new strategies to satisfy more sophisticated

customers

In response to the recent economic

downturn and substantial losses in the equity markets, wealth

management clients are increasingly skeptical of the value that

advisors provide. In addition, the ubiquitous availability of

financial information and advanced trading capabilities has

resulted in greater customer sophistication, requiring advisors

to expand their reach and develop new strategies that

differentiate.

The market data cloud offers

advisors the ability to quickly develop new strategies with

instant access to a broad range of financial information spanning

equities, fixed income, commodities, options, futures, foreign

exchange, mutual funds, and more. Armed with on-demand, real time

information, advisors can respond to client demands more

efficiently.

Wealth management technology

challenge #3

Staying connected with

customers 24/7

One of the key considerations

driving any data management strategy is how to leverage

technology to forge stronger client relationships. Wealth

management customers, particularly the new generation, expect

detailed real-time market information wherever they are, whenever

they want it. Advisors that deliver branded customer portals or

data-rich mobile applications stay better connected with

customers while enhancing transparency and trust.

A cloud-based market data solution is well equipped to

meet online portal and mobile application challenges head on.

Cloud-based web APIs stream real-time and referential data to

mobile apps seamlessly. With a market data cloud, firms can

reduce the development cycle and launch branded customer portals

and mobile applications in less time.

Wealth management technology challenge #4

Reducing market data expenditures

In today's cost-cutting environment, market data

expenditures are under the microscope. This encompasses the cost

of the market data itself, as well as the infrastructure and

maintenance costs associated with data management.

A cloud-based market data solution enables wealth

management firms to optimize market data spend across both of

these parameters. The on-demand pricing structure of a market

data cloud solution means that advisors only pay for the data

they use. And integrating market data directly from the cloud

enables firms to sidestep costly data management

efforts.

Wealth management technology

challenge #5

Building proprietary investment

models and reporting capabilities in Excel

Microsoft Excel is a critical application for investment

research, monitoring, and reporting. Financial advisors require a

market data solution that seamlessly integrates real-time

information into their proprietary Excel spreadsheets. But to get

this capability in the form of an Excel add-in, advisors often

have to pay a premium for desktop terminals, ranging from $5-15K

per user per year.

A cloud-based market data

solution easily integrates real-time and referential market data

into Excel via flexible web APIs, enabling advisors to consider

cutting the cord on terminals altogether. All that's required is

a few lines of code and an internet connection.