Losing a client rarely comes down to performance alone. Often, it’s a delayed response, a missed message, or the lack of a personal touch when it matters most. In wealth management, poor communication quietly undermines trust, operational efficiency, and firm value.
The consequences of poor communication can quickly ripple outward. Communication breakdowns introduce compliance risks, hinder advisor productivity, and stall scalable growth. Firms that delay modernizing communication risk more than inefficiency, they risk falling behind.
Client Churn: A Preventable Loss
McKinsey & Company research shows that even companies that retain nine out of 10 clients yearly still lose considerable asset and profit growth due to clients who move elsewhere. After all, even firms with 90% retention rates risk losing one in ten clients each year.
That figure rises among younger investors, who value immediacy, clarity, and digital fluency. A study by Nitrogen Wealth highlights communication gaps as a leading cause of client dissatisfaction and advisor switching.
The cost isn’t limited to lost relationships. Each departure represents forfeited assets under management, resource-heavy replacement efforts, and lost momentum in client lifecycle value.
Compliance Risk: Avoidable Exposure
Compliance failures don’t always stem from bad intent. Sometimes, they begin with a missed note, an undocumented client request, or an overlooked follow-up. These lapses can expose firms to legal disputes, regulatory scrutiny, and brand damage.
In one high-profile example, Barclays incurred $77 million in fines due to record-keeping failures that jeopardized client asset safety. But smaller firms aren’t immune. Even a single undocumented client interaction can invite audits and shake client confidence.
Unlike traditional email, modern secure messaging systems track engagement and automatically log each exchange for compliance purposes. If you are faced with an SEC audit, you don’t want to search through old email threads, so tracking is critical.
Operational Inefficiencies: Hidden Drains on Growth
Communication inefficiencies compound quietly. Advisors still spend hours searching voicemails, assembling manual reports, and switching between disconnected systems.
According to Practifi, these legacy workflows are a core barrier to scale and advisor productivity. Missed follow-ups and untracked conversations silently undermine revenue and reputation.
A Modern Communication Framework
Leading firms are closing the communication gap with integrated platforms like the SS&C Black Diamond® Wealth Platform.
SS&C’s Risk & Compliance Intelligence Platform (RCI) is offered independently of SS&C’s Black Diamond® Wealth Platform but integrates deeply with it. RCI is modular, allowing firms to select from a range of compliance tools—including the new Digital Message Surveillance module—based on their unique needs and workflows.
With features like secure messaging, automated reporting, and customizable client portals, Black Diamond enables clear, consistent, and timely communication across every touchpoint. The platform’s purpose-built CRM centralizes client information, surfaces communication history, and supports personalized outreach, making it easier for advisors to stay connected and compliant without toggling between tools.
The impact is measurable:
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More than 600,000 clients log in to their portals every month, with spikes when quarterly performance reports are sent out.
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Three generations of a single family can use the same portal to monitor college savings, retirement, and elder care planning, all with complete transparency.
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RCI further reinforces oversight by maintaining detailed, permissioned audit trails. This empowers advisors to focus on relationship-building while ensuring every interaction is securely captured.
Poor communication is a strategic liability. However, with the proper infrastructure, excellent client communication helps firms deepen client trust, strengthen compliance readiness, and enable sustainable growth.
To learn more about how Black Diamond’s modern Client Portal and purpose-built CRM can help you exceed your clients’ expectations on communication and transparency, call us at 1-800-727-0605, email us at info@advent.com, or request your personal demo.
