For all the talk of hyper-personalization, AI-powered client engagement solutions, and streamlined advisor workflows, it is still incredibly difficult for today’s advisors to answer the seemingly simple question that every client wants to know: What is the bottom-line impact of your advice on my portfolio?

As anyone who has ever combed through annualized portfolio performance data, cross-referenced it with client emails, call logs and calendar tools, and benchmarked everything against comparable risk profiles can tell you, accessing all the information needed to draw a direct link between good counsel and portfolio performance can be tougher than it looks. The fact is that, even in the era of digital transformation, information is often scattered across dozens of different systems, platforms, and data silos—each with their own limitations and interfaces—making it next-to-impossible to find the single golden thread that ties everything together.

It’s also why preparing for client meetings or delivering truly personalized, highly customized client touch-bases always feels like so much more work than it should be.

Alas, there are no magic wands for wealth management. But there are some new approaches to data harmonization that are making it possible to quickly synthesize all of these disparate pieces of information without requiring massive-scale data migration exercises. Based on our work leading enterprise data harmonization efforts for many of the world’s leading wealth management firms, we’ve outlined the key steps required to start rethinking data management strategy today.

That is just not realistic. In fact, according to our 2025 Digital Transformation & Next-Gen Technology Study, nearly half (47%) of financial firms are currently dealing with data silos, so the idea that some magic data migration effort will suddenly fix that is a bit far-fetched.

Fortunately, data harmonization is not about converting everything to the same standard; it’s about connecting all the disparate pieces in an organized fashion. Like singers in a choir, each singing different notes, the beauty comes not from the homogenization of those voices, but from the manner in which the distinct sounds are tied together.

At Broadridge, we call this approach a “single pane of glass,” and it is the critical first step toward creating harmony between distinct datasets. By creating a single user interface that ties all of the disparate pieces together and allows them to be accessed behind the scenes by APIs, end-users can have a single-source solution, even if the underlying data is still coming from siloed components. This approach makes it possible, for example, to easily source portfolio data, CRM data, back- and middle-office data, and other key information through a single solution, instead of jumping in-and-out of half a dozen different programs to give a client an update.

For example, if the underlying data in a CRM platform were warehoused alongside the underlying data from a portfolio planning solution, an order management system, and risk analytics software, it now becomes possible to not only access these databases through a single user interface, it also becomes possible to build analytics and generate insights across these datasets.

The key to connecting these disparate datasets on the back end is through a common data ontology, which effectively identifies each individual data attribute and defines how it relates to other data attributes in the system. Once established, these rules for how data should behave in a data warehouse can be refined further into a common data model, which defines the manner in which these distinct data attributes connect with one another as part of a larger system.

Adding value

Together, this building block approach to data harmonization, which starts with establishing a single user interface and culminates with a future-proof data management strategy, is allowing wealth management teams to immediately start reaping the rewards of digital transformation without needing to wave a magic wand or wait years for costly infrastructure projects to be completed.

Perhaps more importantly, though, by consistently moving the needle toward a more centralized view of key information – from customer relationship management data to client onboarding to portfolio planning to risk management to compliance – leading wealth management firms are finally making it possible for advisors to connect the dots between the service they offer and the benefits their clients receive. This information is the foundation for all the things that matter most to the industry. It is the root of client personalization; it is the key to customer experience and brand advocacy; and it is the critical ingredient for AI-powered analytics and client engagement tools. Fortunately, unlocking that potential is now more accessible than ever.

About the Author

Eoin Cavanagh
Vice President, Wealth Product Innovation
Broadridge
LinkedIn profile

Eoin Cavanagh is the Head of Innovation in Wealth Management at Broadridge. He brings deep expertise in financial services innovation, having served as CTO at Rockall Technologies where he led the creation of their first SaaS platform—a solution adopted by numerous major US financial institutions and which contributed to the firm’s successful integration with Broadridge. Eoin’s career spans technical and architectural leadership, including building and operating secure, large-scale systems for a global technology pioneer at the forefront of the cloud and internet era. At Broadridge, he is now focused on applying advanced analytics and AI, including GenAI, to elevate the wealth management advisor experience—enjoying the challenge of working at the intersection of technology and product, and partnering directly with clients to build game-changing solutions.