For decades, wealth management firms, banks, and asset managers have struggled with fragmented, legacy setups that hinder efficient data exchange. From financial information exchange (FIX) protocols to custom APIs and manual file transfers, these disconnected methods create bottlenecks, inflate costs and drain operational resources. With no universal standard in place, every new integration requires custom development, slowing down onboarding, increasing risk and driving up expenses.
This status quo is no longer sustainable. In an era where financial markets demand agility and clients expect seamless, data-driven services, the wealth management sector must embrace a smarter, more unified approach. The answer?
OpenWealth, a standardised API framework that enables secure, scalable and streamlined financial data integration across banks, independent asset managers (IAMs), and wealthtech firms.
Breaking free from outdated approaches
Traditional data exchange methods in wealth management are no longer fit for purpose. The industry continues to face these three primary challenges:
- Diverse data standards - Each bank and wealth management technology platform operates on its own data dictionary, requiring complex customisations for every new connection.
- Rising costs and complexity - Custom integrations take significant time and resources to build and maintain. Firms spend significant amounts to keep legacy approaches functioning.
- Operational bottlenecks - Without a universal API standard, firms are forced to cleanse and reconcile data manually across systems. This slows down investment decision-making, introduces errors and places unnecessary strain on operations.
The demand for digital-first, client-centric experiences make these inefficiencies increasingly unsustainable. The industry needs a unified, scalable solution –OpenWealth provides the foundation for that transformation.
A collaborative effort for standardisation
In response to longstanding industry challenges, Synpulse, together with key industry players, established the OpenWealth Association in Switzerland as a non-profit organisation to drive industry-wide collaboration.
The goal? To create and maintain a standardised API framework that enables secure and seamless financial data exchange.
Unlike proprietary solutions that lock firms into vendor-specific ecosystems, OpenWealth is industry-led, vendor-neutral, and scalable. Built by the industry for the industry. OpenWealth members, including banks and wealth technology firms (wealthtechs), collaborate to evolve the API standard, ensuring alignment with evolving business and client needs.
The OpenWealth API: solving wealth management’s core challenges
At the heart of OpenWealth’s offering are three essential APIs designed to tackle the most pressing operational challenges in wealth management:
- Custody services API – Managing assets across multiple custodians is notoriously complex. This API facilitates real-time financial data exchange, eliminating manual reconciliation and ensuring greater accuracy in portfolio management, especially for family offices and IAMs managing multi-custodian portfolios.
- Order placement API – Speed and accuracy are critical in investment management. The order placement API automates the placement of trade orders between an IAM and a custody bank, reducing human error and administrative delays.
- Customer management API – Onboarding new clients across multiple banks can be slow and repetitive. This API enables independent asset managers (IAMs) to share core client data efficiently, reducing duplicate submissions and accelerating onboarding.
By leveraging these standardised APIs, financial institutions (FIs) can reduce costs, accelerate timelines, and deliver a more consistent, high-quality client experience.
Accelerating adoption with standardised adapters
To accelerate OpenWealth adoption, Synpulse has developed standardised adapters that integrate seamlessly with major core banking platforms. These adapters eliminate the need for costly custom-built setups, enabling FIs to deploy OpenWealth APIs quickly, efficiently, and at scale.
The result is a more agile, scalable and future-ready digital wealth ecosystem. Firms can offer real-time portfolio updates, automated order placement, and deliver the seamless digital experiences that today’s clients and financial intermediaries demand.
The future is now: why financial institutions must act
With a surge in high-net-worth investors seeking personalised and tech-enabled wealth solutions, the pressure to modernise is only intensifying. Singapore alone is home to over 2,000 family offices, a number that continues to rise.
OpenWealth is no longer just a concept. It is an essential solution for the future of wealth management. The time for action is now. The wealth management industry must embrace standardisation, and OpenWealth provides the roadmap to a more efficient, data-driven future. Those who hesitate risk being left behind in an industry that is rapidly evolving toward digital-first solutions.
