As the decade continues to unfold, a host of new trends are reshaping the face and future of the investment industry. Demographics are radically changing in many parts of the world, posing new and sometimes thorny challenges that must be met and adapted to in order to safeguard the future of the industry. One of the most pressing challenges comes in the form of an increasing gentrification among young clients, many of whom are dealing with an investment firm for the very first time in their lives.
Demographic Studies Confirm an Increasingly Younger Client Base
Demographic studies have shown that the client base of leading wealth management and investment firms is becoming ever younger. The total number of individuals who are currently in possession of $1 million dollars with which to invest is now 4.4 million, a number that represents an all-time record in the history of the industry. Meanwhile, the total amount of wealth that can be invested by this group has been estimated at $15.2 trillion dollars, another all-time high.
A Shift in Demographics Is Slowly Restructuring the Industry
Investment firms are thus pressed to find viable solutions to the issues faced by an increasingly younger and less experienced group of potential new clients. How can such companies cater to the needs of this new clientele while remaining faithful to their core principles and standard operating procedure? The issues raised by this new scenario have perplexed industry pundits and corporate CEO’s alike, and are sure to remain an ongoing source of productive speculation for many years to come.
The Retention of Customer Loyalty Is an Ongoing Industry Concern
One of the most crucial concerns that investment firms are going to have to grapple with in the very near future is the issue of customer loyalty. Most international firms, such as FI among others, have gotten used to a certain amount of long term customer loyalty. Many of these firms have based their long term corporate strategies on this basic assumption, and may thus be in for a rather rude awakening when they discover that younger customers are less likely to show such long term customer loyalty.
Customer Retention Strategies Are an At All Time Premium
As the direct result of such changing demographics, customer retention strategies are at an all-time premium. New strategies are being devised to retain customer loyalty to a single investment firm while also reassuring older customers that their continuing involvement in the company is being rewarded in the proper fashion. The revolutionary advent of Internet technology has enabled many investment firms to shift the emphasis of daily customer relations to an online basis, which has engaged these younger customers in a much more streamlined and direct manner.
New Strategies Are Being Devised To Deal with Online Clients
New strategies are being devised to deal with clients whose interaction with the company occurs almost wholly on a purely online basis. By engaging directly with these clients on their own terms, companies can increase the customer loyalty of this new breed of clientele by presenting them with informative content on a daily basis. The age of the fully interactive company website is now upon us, thanks to this new and emerging generation of investors.