Index provider S&P Dow Jones Indices has acquired ARC Research, a provider of investment performance data, benchmarking capabilities and insights for private wealth management
According to S&P Dow Jones, ARC Research, a repeat winner of the WealthBriefing European Award for Investment Consultancy, has the world’s largest proprietary dataset of over half million private client portfolios.
The list of investment managers and advisers contributing to ARC Research’s data include Barclays, Canaccord, Charles Stanley, Coutts, RBC Brewin Dolphin, Rathbones, Schroders and UBS.
Graham Harrison, founder and chair of ARC Group, says the company was created “on the founding principle that improving the transparency of performance data would lead to better decision making”.
Data management and digital tools are widely regarded as key to enhancing services for private wealth clients. Robo-advisory services typically target the so-called mass affluent category that’s below high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth individuals, while most digitisation efforts are focused on middle and back office services.
Client expectations in private wealth management appear to be changing, with increasing recognition of the need for strong data support. “Generational wealth is going through unprecedented transition, with as much as 80% at risk of leaving for a new wealth management firm,” according to Linedata, a wealth management software solutions firm. Risk management and regulatory compliance are among the key priority areas.
For ARC Research, the deal may be driven by the need to follow its migrating client base. According to the firm, the goal is “to take the ARC Wealth Indices global, with the reach and recognition they deserve”.
A recent private wealth migration report from Henley & Partners forecast that a record-breaking 142,000 millionaires are due to migrate internationally this year, with the UK alone losing some 16,500. Many of these are headed for Japan, Singapore, China and India, as well as typical destinations such as the United Arab Emirates, Switzerland and Monaco.
