In the second part of our series featuring past and present clients and how they are shaking up their industries with their innovations, we are taking a look at WealthKernel, a FinTech business that is changing the world of wealth management for the better.
Traditionally, the service of investing and wealth management is catered to high net-worth investors to help them to invest their wealth into assets and assist them in managing their portfolio. Over the past decade, the amount of money put into assets by high net-worth investors has consistently increased, with a 26% increase in net money invested reported in 2015, illustrating the need for wealth management services moving forward. The problem, however, is that many potential investors are turned away by banks and wealth management firms as the necessary amount to invest to make it worthwhile for advisors, with reports suggesting that over a third of advisors will only provide advice to clients with over £1M to invest.
WealthKernel, founded in 2015 by Karan Shanmugarajah, is attempting to help in this regard by providing infrastructure support and investment management support for firms as we enter the era of digitization. Through their hybrid model, which can be either direct-to-consumer or B2B, WealthKernel helps banks and wealth and asset management firms provide lower-cost services to smaller clients that they would likely have to turn away otherwise, due to their likely low chance of providing value for time put in.
In a recent interview, Mr. Shanmugarajah artfully compared the service they provide choice of vehicle, saying “Full advice is the standard. It is the BMW of financial advice. Right now, if you can’t afford that, you are forced to take the bus. We have created the middle layer – we are the Peugeots of the world.” While it remains clear that full advice is the optimal choice within the industry, the robo-advice option that WealthKernel has developed can empower big banks to help smaller clients through a reduction in cost associated with managing their wealth and assets.
WealthKernel’s developed solution allows for a personalised experience for users, using artificial intelligence and robot learning to provide advice and assurance based on what the customer wants to do with their invested sum. Solutions are offered at varying levels of complexity and can encompass the entire wealth management process from onboarding to data reporting to fund management if required.
WealthKernel, through their innovative solutions, are changing the way the wealth management business operates, allowing banks and advisors to reach and work with clients that were not viable previously through their digital robo-advice platform.
For more information on how WealthKernel and its solutions are changing the wealth management industry, check out their site here!