The Benefits of CRM for Business Banking (2024)

As portfolios become more diverse, they naturally become more complex. This increased complexity can make it difficult for those who manage portfolios — financial advisors, relationship managers, and client associates — to keep track of all of the data that goes into managing a healthy portfolio.

In addition to dealing with complex data, portfolio managers often find themselves having to juggle interactions with clients and other employees. Taken all together, these factors represent a potential stumbling block for those who manage portfolios. Accurate, accessible data management may be the answer, but despite this, as many as 31% of businesses still use paperwork to manage investment data.

Without the right tools, wealth managers may find themselves in a stormy sea of disorganized client information.

Portfolio management software has the power to help wealth managers analyze their client data in less time so they can maximize their advising hours.

Thanks to modern technology, businesses now have the capabilities to easily capture, organize, and analyze large volumes of client data. Portfolio management software takes advantage of these advances to create a series of tools designed to rein in the complexities of the portfolio management industry.

The most basic function of financial portfolio management software is to assist wealth managers with organizing and understanding the details of their clients’ investments. This is done through the use of analytics tools that track holdings, organize data, chart profits and losses, and analyze assets using key performance metrics.

As wealth managers begin to adopt these solutions, they are finding that improved digital technology may be the most reliable path to better data and ultimately, higher client satisfaction with portfolio performance.

The accuracy of digital portfolio management carries with it many benefits. Reliable portfolio management leads to improved client trust and satisfaction, leading to a more loyal customer base and growth in an organization's book of business. In fact, when asked what factors are important when selecting a financial advisor, 67% identified modern financial planning tools as being important, and 76% mentioned the ability to get a holistic view of all accounts and financial history.

Financial portfolio management accounting software reduces the potential for reputation-harming finance errors and gives clients peace of mind, while also ensuring that other finance-related tasks and data are being properly handled. However, portfolio management technology is a broad concept, covering many different areas. As such, many wealth managers are discovering that having too many portfolio management tools can be nearly as bad as having none at all.

The solution lies in finding and committing to a single, all-encompassing portfolio and financial asset management software solution.

Software solutions exist that combine the effectiveness of an entire suite of portfolio management tools into a single system, including such necessities as data capture and analysis, customer relationship management (CRM) tools, and advanced financial software. Finding the right portfolio management solutions, however, can be a difficult prospect without an idea of what to look for.

Here are the most important factors and tools to consider when choosing a portfolio management software solution:

• How well does it integrate with other systems?
  Unless you’re building your portfolio management system from the ground up, you likely already have a number of management programs and processes working for your business. A superior portfolio management solution should be able to easily integrate with these programs, giving you a single comprehensive view of your most valuable data and allowing you to direct your portfolio management tasks from a single pane of glass.

  A CRM platform is generally much more likely to be compatible with various systems, making it an extremely useful addition to any portfolio management software.

• Does it promote collaboration between departments and teams?
  Unless you are the only person using your portfolio management software, effective cross-team collaboration is an absolute must. Cloud-based programs that allow all authorized users to access and interact with data in real time, updating information across all users in the process, ensure that everyone has the same, dependable client and investment information.

• Does it facilitate productive communication?
  Communication between departments and teams is about more than just being able to access the same data. When discussion is needed, built-in communication tools can make all the difference.

  These tools allow for easy information exchange that builds upon trusted social media formats to deliver an accessible, hassle-free communication experience. These tools can also be extended beyond the portfolio management team to the clients themselves in order to provide more collaborative advice.

• How flexible is it?
  Portfolio management software needs to be able to change and adapt to meet the specific needs of clients and business. Open-source financial portfolio management software ensures that you’ll be able to make changes, configurations, and customizations when you need to, so that your portfolio management system is always capable of providing you with the tools you need, even as your business changes.

Salesforce, the world’s #1 CRM,recognizes that for a portfolio management solution to be effective, it needs to be powerful, accessible, and innovative. Salesforce Financial Services Cloud, built on the Salesforce platform, provides wealth managers with the tools they need to be able to manage and analyze client portfolios at scale.

Financial Services Cloud offers users the ability to better understand their clients’ relationships, networks, households, and financial accounts, thanks to rich, customizable profiles. Advisors can also take action at the point of insight with embedded analytics dashboards to help keep their clients on track to reach their financial goals. The advisor home page in Financial Services Cloud gives users a complete view of their entire portfolio management system at a glance, and allows them to automate routine tasks and track client referrals.

More than anything else, Salesforce Financial Cloud is a high-touch relationship management platform designed to help wealth managers deliver more personalized advice at scale. Financial Services Cloud simplifies the process of working directly with clients, allowing advisors to manage clients’ portfolios in context to their broader financial life goals, household, and relationship data — all in one easy-to-use place.