Over the past year there has been an evolution in how the wealth management platform is defined, with an increasing appetite for an enterprise-wide single infrastructure solution that combines technology and services into a completely integrated front-to-back service offering, according to a new report by Celent, the financial research and consultancy firm.

The report, Driving Efficiency Through Wealth Management Platforms, said that firms are looking to gain efficiency by reducing the number of vendor relationships and combining technology and services into a unified offering with a few key strategic partners.

Celent identified a number themes driving increased interest and investment in outsourcing services and wealth management technology platforms.

"As a result of stringent regulations, increased client demands, an increasing number of channels, greater transparency requirements, and an increased focus on risk, wealth managers have focused on lowering costs and reducing turnaround times, while improving efficiency and creating a holistic view of clients. A pillar of this strategy is integration of data, channels, people, and processes," Celent said.

The report said that wealth management firms that lead the pack will succeed through more intelligently deploying capital and realigning resources so they can have a single focus on growing and scaling their business across segments. 

"Wealth managers have entered a new stage in their relationships with vendors, one in which they are looking to outsource as much as possible while simultaneously controlling the number of vendor relationships," Celent said.

Clients are increasingly looking for vendors that will support several components of the advisory process while also providing the infrastructure to integrate to other systems when necessary, the report said.

Celent said it expects to see a number of additional trends in the platform provider market, including an expansion of strategic partnerships and an increase in focus on commercial planning activities. The firm also said that it believes there will be increased interest in turning to service providers for model portfolio advisory and that the integration of data and channels will remain a top priority.

"Industry trends demand a new business model where wealth managers focus their efforts on a few differentiators and offload services and technology to a provider that has the scale to support a firm's infrastructure. Increasingly, wealth managers will require a fully integrated, end-to-end solution that can manage evolving client needs, operate seamlessly in global markets, and drive efficiency throughout an organization's wealth management business," Celent said.