The Industry Landscape
A New Era of Intelligent Wealth Management
As investors demand faster, more personalized service and regulators increase scrutiny, wealth management firms are modernizing core operations to remain competitive. This involves overcoming manual processes and monolithic legacy systems that often limit the ability to adapt swiftly. Forward-thinking organizations are embracing low-code platforms to drive agility, speed and innovation, especially in high-stakes, high-volume areas like transaction processing.
The Client Challenge
Aging Infrastructure Undermined Productivity and Growth
A leading wealth management firm – responsible for processing thousands of investor instructions daily – relied heavily on outdated legacy systems. These systems required extensive manual effort and user training, resulting in inconsistent throughput, high error rates and limited visibility. During tax season, surging workloads exposed further fragility in the process. The firm needed to modernize without business disruption and demonstrate rapid ROI through a scalable, user-friendly solution.
The Solution
Fast, User-centric Automation Through Appian-led Transformation
WNS partnered with the client to develop and deploy a modular, agile solution on the Appian low-code platform, emphasizing an intuitive user experience and seamless adoption. Combining domain excellence, on-site consultants and low-code design capabilities, WNS worked in close collaboration with client stakeholders for a future-ready solution. Key elements of the transformation included:
Smart task queuing and prioritization
A user-friendly interface to manage, re-assign and prioritize tasks with minimal friction
Real-time dashboards and performance tracking
For full visibility into workload distribution, re-work trends and consultant productivity
Bulk action capability
To assign or complete high volumes of tasks efficiently
Agile delivery of Minimum Viable Products (MVP)
For faster value realization and iterative improvements
Automated document handling
A utility to upload, split and auto-link / unlink documents to service requests
Re-usable workflows
Flexible processes, built by adopting best practices, designed for easy extension across future automation initiatives
This co-creation model – reinforced by post-implementation support – helped embed Appian expertise into the client’s in-house teams, future-proofing the solution and enabling scale-up across departments.
The Outcome
Scalability, Accuracy and Trust
The modernized Appian-based platform accelerated transaction throughput while reducing errors. By eliminating process bottlenecks and embedding intelligent automation into daily workflows, the solution unlocked workforce capacity, enhanced visibility and positioned the client for broader cross-functional transformation.
Key benefits included:
x increase in daily transactions per consultant
percent reduction in internal linking errors, enhancing accuracy and advisor confidence
Zero loss of cases, driven by better queue management and visibility
Record early completion of tax season volumes, the fastest in 5 years
Full-time Equivalents (FTE) re-allocated to higher-value work, enabled by process automation
MVPs delivered in weeks instead of months, owing to agile, collaborative development
Uplift in consultant experience, with faster system onboarding and minimal training
Improved accountability through full audit trails and real-time dashboards
Cross-departmental interest in scaling Appian adoption, driven by demonstrated ROI and ease of use
FAQs
1. What challenges do wealth management firms usually face with legacy systems?
Wealth management firms often deal with outdated systems that slow down processing, require heavy manual work, and create inconsistencies in daily operations. During peak seasons—like tax time—these limitations become even more visible, leading to backlogs, errors, and extra pressure on teams. Modernizing systems helps firms stay agile and responsive.
2. How does low-code automation improve wealth management operations?
Low-code automation simplifies complex workflows by reducing manual steps, enabling faster processing and improving the accuracy of transactions. It allows teams to update and deploy features quickly without deep technical expertise. This helps wealth management firms scale operations, adapt to rising workloads and deliver better client experiences.
3. Why was Appian chosen for this automation initiative?
Appian provides a flexible, modular, and user-friendly platform for building automation solutions quickly. Its low-code capabilities support rapid MVP development, seamless integration with legacy systems and easy scaling across departments. The platform also enables better visibility and collaboration, making it ideal for high-volume wealth management environments.
4. What measurable results did the client achieve from this transformation?
The transformation delivered significant improvements, including a 2x increase in daily transactions per consultant, a 70% reduction in internal linking errors, and zero case loss due to smarter queue management. The firm also completed tax season faster than in the past five years and reallocated staff to higher-value tasks.
5. Is this type of low-code solution suitable for other financial services processes?
Absolutely. Low-code automation can support a wide range of financial services processes such as onboarding, compliance checks, account servicing, document handling and transaction processing. Its flexibility makes it easy to customize workflows, improve operational accuracy and accelerate digital transformation across multiple business functions.
6. How long does it typically take to implement a low-code automation solution?
Low-code implementations are much faster than traditional development projects. Organizations can launch Minimum Viable Products (MVPs) in a matter of weeks, gain early feedback and expand the solution gradually. This agile approach helps reduce risks, improve adoption and deliver faster return on investment.