An understandable desire to build excellent offerings on mobile devices must not cause desktop platforms to be neglected, a study of private banks' websites finds.

The rush to build top-notch mobile devices means that websites designed for desktop computers have been left behind, suggesting the industry can be easily swayed by short-term fads, according to a study of wealth managers’ technologies.

The comments come from the report Websites for Wealth Management 2018 by Swiss research company MyPrivateBanking Research. The organisation puts a spotlight on the desktop and mobile websites of 21 prominent wealth managers worldwide. The report is published exclusively by this news service.

“Desktop isn’t dead! With the push for mobile-first web presences, some wealth management desktop sites have been left to gather dust. Outdated content, static design, and a lack of advanced core features greatly reduces the usability of these sites,” Onawa Lacewell, senior analyst of MyPrivateBanking, said.

“However, many clients still use these portals regularly - and a flexible, interactive, and dynamic website that builds dialogue between client in bank is a must,” Lacewell continued.

The best five wealth managers’ websites for this year combine scores for mobile and desktop devices. Total points are given, with a maximum possible score of 60:

(Rank for 2016 is given in brackets)

1 (1) ABN AMRO 54
2 (8) BNP Paribas 53
3 (2) DBS 52
4 (7) UBS 49
5 (10) Credit Suisse 48

The study examined the following firm’s websites (desktop and mobile): ABN AMRO, Barclays, BNP Paribas, Citi Private Bank, Credit Suisse , DBS Bank, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, Investec, JP Morgan, Julius Bär, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Nedbank, Pictet, RBC, Société Générale, UBS, US Trust, Vontobel and Wells Fargo.

The report said there are two players in its top rankings, ABN AMRO and BNP Paribas, both of which have seen significant further gains in performance.

“MyPrivateBanking sees considerable advances among the evaluated banks in relation to previous reports, particularly so in the areas of web design and user experience,” it said. The reported noted that in the 2016 evaluation only around half (52 per cent) of the desktop websites under evaluation had adequate “navigation, structure, and design” while in this year’s evaluation this percentage rose to 75 per cent.

“Wealth managers are catching up and showing initiative by creating websites that are intuitive and easy to navigate, but that can also make bold aesthetic statements and convey the luxury and exclusivity that characterize the segment. Nevertheless, challenges remain. Specifically, interactivity, transparency, and channel consistency continue to throw up roadblocks for many of the world’s top wealth managers and private banks,” it said.

“Most wealth management desktop and mobile websites provide an overall good user experience, but still face challenges in providing a deep, interactive, personalized, and comprehensive client experience via their online channels,” Onawa Lacewell said, considering results for the majority if the analyzed wealth managers websites.

“The focus on design and responsivity has created a superficial web presence that lacks depth and substantive value,” Lacewell said.

An example of this issue is that in the MyPrivateBanking benchmarking the average scores for the criteria “navigation, structure and design” and “content” are significantly higher than that for “interactivity and social media” for desktop websites.

The study said firms must give priority to a comprehensive approach, embracing different channels, rather than just follow often temporary design trends. Also, the industry must understand interactivity is central to substantial customer experience.

One problem is that less than a third of the evaluated wealth management websites (29 per cent) have interactive tools that aid financial education and investment.

“Online needs to be more than a display of information for customers to passively consume. Most of the evaluated wealth managers could do a lot more to provide substantive dynamic interaction to their customer experience rather than a static experience” Lacewell said.

“They could create a more engaging and unique customer experience by offerings live chats or chatbots; provide ways to both give and share feedback on the content of the
website; or install tools that will help the brand know its customers better, such as investment profiles, risk assessments and goal setting questionnaires,” the Lacewell added.

The study is based on 35 criteria for the desktop websites and nine criteria for the mobile websites. The report ranks and benchmarks, among others, user-friendliness and the quality of the content, contact options and interactivity offered by the wealth management desktop and mobile websites of each institution.