For those of us actively involved in the wealth management industry, the title of this article should speak for itself. Yes, we are in the year 2020, and wealth managers continue to struggle mightily with onboarding new clients onto their platforms. The challenge spans beyond just client onboarding – it reaches into account opening, funding and across the end-to-end client life cycle.

Many in the industry identify client onboarding as one of the defining moments of the new relationship. Some call these key stages ‘moments that matter’ or ‘moments of truth’ for the client. This terminology denotes a vital aspect of the relationship where the wealth manager can either build trust or lose credibility, sometimes for good. The lasting impression that the client onboarding experience can leave on a client cannot be overstated. As such, this notion brings me back to question why – in this age of technological advancement and innovation – can firms still drop the ball on their client onboarding experience.