The drive by co-presidents Iqbal Khan and Tom Naratil to put digital at the heart of UBS's wealth management offering has been given a boost by Covid-19, but both insist human interaction remains vital

Alongside the Wealth Tech Awards for 2020, PWM hosted a video discussion around the key wealth management themes being highlighted and accelerated by the current Covid-19 crisis, including digital transformation, big data analytics and finding the illusive combination of human and robotic advice

Private banks, who were already promoting private equity before Covid-19 hit, now see even more opportunities in the sector as a result of depressed company valuations

Private banks will only survive if they adopt new ways of doing business, believes David Durlacher, CEO of Julius Baer International

Covid-19 has reinforced the need for private banks to transform their digital offerings, which will mean improving the client experience and efficient use of data, explained Jennifer Miller from US tech provider Vuture in a recent PWM webinar

While European and Middle Eastern clients tend to invest with long-term horizons and are buying up stocks, Rémi Frank, global head of the key client group at BNP Paribas Wealth Management, reports that Asian investors, who have shorter timescales in mind, are reacting very differently

The ‘tailing’ of Iqbal Khan was nothing out of the ordinary for Swiss private banks, illustrating how much more restructuring must be done

High net worth clients are discerning and demanding of their wealth manager. But firms that can deliver what they want can find themselves with a loyal client base