The major exercise is expected to boost service quality, agility and regulatory compliance while providing flexibility and customizability in systems management

On 24 Sep 2024, the wholly-owned investment arm of Gulf Bank in Kuwait announced the adoption of an external cloud-based platform to transform its core wealth management system.

The transformation involves the consolidation of Gulf Capital Investment Company (InvestGB)’s all specified systems (involving wealth management, asset management, investments and investment advisory) and related data into a unified infrastructure for improved responsiveness and service quality.

Third-party services and applications will be seamlessly integrated via provided application programming interfaces that bring an array of other benefits, such as:

  • intuitive visualization of investment portfolios
  • greater transparency around fees
  • advanced self-service features
  • the latest authentication standards for ensuring secure access
  • flexible customization options for providing a user interface tailored specifically to both private and corporate banking clients, such as custom dashboards and easy-to-use functionality
  • automation and standardization of processes across front-, middle-, and back-office operations
  • dedicated modules for investment advisory, fund administration, portfolio management, and corporate actions for streamlining service efficiency
  • built-in automation to enhance accuracy and straight-through processing capabilities for improving operational efficiency
  • integrated robust Know Your Client (KYC) functions for automating regulatory and compliance checks for reinforcing a risk management framework
  • automation of client onboarding, portfolio rebalancing and investment proposal creation to allow relationship managers to focus on personalized client communication and advice

According to the firm’s CEO, Hani AlAwadhi, the transformation demonstrates its unwavering commitment to innovation and delivering long-term value for clients, through the adoption of “cutting-edge technology… advancing the digital transformation of … wealth management services, driving growth through innovation, and … to better serve the evolving needs of high-networth individuals and corporate clients.”

Said Akash Anand, Regional Director and Head (Middle East and Africa), Avaloq, the cloud-based wealth investment platform that is a subsidiary of NEC Corporation of Japan: “We are honored to welcome InvestGB as our first client in Kuwait…  We look forward to supporting InvestGB in transforming the region’s private banking and wealth management sector.”