The digital wealth management platform (DWMP) market has witnessed growth and development over the past years, evolving into an established industry comprising global and regional players, advanced solutions tailored to specific market needs, and increased integration of modern technologies to keep up with the pace of digital change.

To help wealth management business and technology executives make sense of this vast and diverse market, American research and advisory company Forrester Research has released a guide offering an overview of the DWMP market, outlining these platforms’ key functionalities and market focus, and spotlighting the most prominent vendors in the sector.

The digital wealth management platform (DWMP) market

The report, titled The Digital Wealth Management Platforms Landscape, Q4 2023, defines DWMPs as solutions designed to optimize client experience and advisor productivity across the investor lifecycle. These platforms include features like customizable workflows, data models, and integration with existing core and customer relationship management solutions. They also support regulatory compliance requirements, and enable a variety of use cases ranging from prospect management and financial planning, to self-service, personalized recommendations and client performance reporting and analytics.

According to the report, wealth management firms are increasingly turning to DWMPs to advance key business objectives, including revenue growth, enhanced customer experiences, and cost reduction. This is done by modernizing both the investor and financial advisor experiences and assisting financial institutions in the attraction, acquisition, and retention of customers, while simultaneously improving operational efficiencies for financial advisors. Additionally, these platforms contribute to addressing other business priorities like risk mitigation, bolstering operational resilience, and fostering innovation.

Market maturity and trends

According to Forrester, the DWMP market has experienced considerable growth and consolidation in the past 24 to 36 months as industry stakeholders pursue private equity investment opportunities and strategic acquisitions to expand their capabilities and geographic footprints.

DWMPs are also integrating modern functionalities to meet the current and future needs of wealth management firms, leveraging application programming interfaces (APIs), artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to differentiate from competitors and partnering with fintech startups to connect to the broader ecosystem and introduce new functionalities rapidly.

DWMPs are using intelligent automation to drive better digital experiences and operations, enabling automated and optimized workflows and improved efficiencies. They also use AI and ML to monitor investor and advisor interactions, preferences, and goals to deliver personalized financial advice.

In addition to increased adoption of advanced technologies, the report notes that the DWMP market is witnessing the growth of global and regional players. These players are tailoring their solutions specifically for their focus markets. Regional players bring regulatory compliance and geographic knowledge to help differentiate their solutions from global competitors, while global platforms have sales and customer success organizations worldwide and often have capabilities in other domains such as banking.

Prominent DWMP providers

Finally, the report spotlights notable DWMP vendors, highlighting Backbase, Envestnet, InvestCloud, SS&C, Tala Consultancy Services and Temenos as prominent providers in the sector. These vendors have a global footprint, serving markets including North America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and Asia-Pacific (APAC).

Wealth management and retail banking are the top two targeted industries by DWMPs, though some of them appear to also be focusing on other specific markets. Prometeia, for example, targets the insurance industry in addition to wealth management; InvestCloud has a sharp focus on security and commodity brokers and exchanges; and Avaloq and Comarch are targeting the corporate and commercial banking industry.

The wealth management sector is undergoing a profound transformation, driven by changing customer expectations and technological advancements.

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