Why onboarding remains a weakness for wealth management firms

Ultra-high net worth individuals (UHNWIs) are used to speed and discretion. So why does onboarding with a wealth management firm still feel like stepping back in time?

Is wealth management falling behind innovation?

Despite years of digital transformation across financial services, onboarding remains one of the most protracted and problematic parts of the wealth management experience. It’s a paradox that speaks to deeper operational challenges within the industry. 

Wealth management has traditionally been rooted in close personal relationships, manual processes and in-person interactions. Combined with growing regulatory complexity, this has made many firms cautious, if not resistant, about embracing digitisation at scale.

Left unresolved, an onboarding experience that feels anything less than premium risks eroding reputation and competitiveness, especially at a time when client expectations have never been higher.

The bottleneck lies in manual due diligence

Onboarding remains one of the most broken parts of the wealth management experience. At a time when banks are investing more in digital transformation, their most valuable clients are still being asked to wait weeks, or even months, just to get through the door.

Research from Avaloq found that nearly a third of wealth managers report onboarding times of three months or more for UHNW clients. Only 13% manage it in under a week.

That gap is especially concerning when you consider who these clients are. 

UHNWIs are typically sophisticated, time-poor individuals who expect high levels of discretion and responsiveness. Many have complex financial lives spanning jurisdictions, asset classes, and generations. When firms ask them to wait weeks, or even months, to be onboarded, it sends the wrong message from the start.

Before working with Xapien, the relationship managers at a private bank often spent days collecting data from intermediaries and conducting web searches before presenting it to a partner for review. Weeks could pass before the process was complete. Clients were left waiting, which reflected poorly on the bank’s prestigious reputation.

The reasons behind these delays are known. Wealth firms are still heavily reliant on manual processes, especially when it comes to Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) compliance.

Avaloq’s research found that 70% of UK respondents cite KYC checks as a significant bottleneck. 

These delays aren’t just frustrating. They represent real commercial and reputational risk. In a highly competitive market, where relationships are everything, a poor onboarding experience can drive clients elsewhere before a relationship has even begun. This is especially worrying for an industry where multi-generational loyalty is normal.

That said, firms can’t cut corners on regulatory compliance. The challenge is to balance both: move faster, but without compromising the depth of KYC and AML checks. 

Technology isn’t optional anymore

When onboarding is treated as a box-ticking exercise, the client feels it. But if firms instead treat it as a strategic touchpoint, an opportunity to demonstrate responsiveness, professionalism, and insight, it becomes a differentiator.

There’s also a competitive urgency. As digital-first wealth platforms grow in sophistication, traditional firms risk losing ground. The next generation of clients, who come to expect fast service from their digital banks, will carry those expectations into the wealth space.

Solving this tension requires more than hiring more compliance staff or adding more steps to a checklist. What’s needed is a structural rethink of how onboarding is executed, and where automation and data enrichment comes in to reduce the manual burden.

Many wealth firms are already familiar with the promise of AML screening tools. The next step is intelligent, contextual due diligence platforms that go beyond ticking boxes. 

For example, platforms like Xapien are being used to generate enriched client due diligence reports in minutes rather than days. By triangulating data across public records, corporate affiliations, press mentions, and more, these tools can surface red flags and green flags that would otherwise take analysts hours to uncover.

These secure platforms also address concerns around discretion. Public searches on platforms like LinkedIn can inadvertently alert clients or leave a digital footprint. Discrete research tools like Xapien protect both the firm and the prospective client.

Wealth management firms that thrive will be those that combine automation with the human touch. By embracing AI, firms can deliver onboarding journeys that aren’t only faster, but more knowledgeable and personalised. Those will be the ones that win the next generation of client loyalty.