Abstract

Financial services have been a recurrent subject of a multichannel inquiry but investigation into the

wealth management area is scarce. This paper intends to fill the gap and presents the results of a

questionnaire directed at customers of a financial conglomerate. The objective of this research is to

examine which variables influence consumers’ channel preferences in the wealth management context,

and to find out possible differences between the customers who prefer predominantly electronic

service or personal service delivery. Logistic regression and t-tests are used in the analysis. The

perceived channel attributes of personalization, convenience and safety, relationship strength, and the

internet and wealth management knowledge influence the channel preferences. Typical wealth

management customers prefer multichannel service delivery; only 4 % of customers prefer pure

electronic service, and 14 % of customers prefer pure personal service. There are several aspects that

differentiate those customers who prefer predominantly electronic or personal service. The preference

for the electronic channel indicated investments in shares, independent decision making style in

wealth management tasks and reliance on electronic information channels. In addition, the customers

who perceive relationship strength with the service provider as weaker prefer predominantly eservices, which should give impetus for action among the management in the financial service

companies.

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