The Digital Wealth Report by Investment Trends surveyed more than 100 digital wealth apps and services launched by fintech startups and established wealth institutions.

The study concludes that the banking relationship is being redefined as fintech companies and banks increasingly compete on insights and behavioral management, and the direct-to-consumer (D2C) investment space remains “ripe for disruption.”

While a number of local fintech startups have targeted micro-savings consumers, investing with automated savings taken from transaction collections, Investment Trends notes that Australian investment product providers are lagging behind.

Michael Blomfield, CEO of Investment Trends, commented that automating saving behavior is a "powerful proposition" and "many apps have further enhanced the simple bypass functionality first introduced by acorns in the US to give greater flexibility and control, providing low friction" .

“Yet progress in the Australian D2C investment space lags behind overseas markets such as the UK and US,” Mr Blomfield said.

"Apart from a handful of startups such as Raiz, Stockspot and Clover, Australian investment product manufacturers have been slow to develop their D2C offerings, leaving the market open to overseas players."

Reshaping banking relationships

According to the white paper, many fintech startups have identified personal financial management (PFM) as an underserved area, and in response, many established banks have improved the functionality of their online retail banking portals.

"Local fintech startups such as MoneyBrilliant, Frollo and Pocketbook have introduced solutions that empower Australians to take more control of their spending and saving habits, while challenging established retail banks to step up," Mr Blomfield said .

He also pointed to mobile apps such as Up, Revolut and Mozo that provide options for debit or credit card transactions, helping users monitor their spending and savings in real time.

"Personal financial management is evolving from tracking spending based on historical data to focus on providing consumers with real-time insights and behavioral management," commented Mr. Blomfield.

"Looking forward, the Open Banking initiative will increase competition and encourage consumers to reevaluate their relationship with their primary financial institution."

Netwealth, MoneyBrilliant ranks the best providers

Investment Trends also evaluated the applications used to provide wealth services to consumers.

Netwealth took home the award as the highest-ranked overall digital wealth application/service among established financial institutions, while MoneyBrilliant topped the list of fintech startups.

The top five ranked digital wealth apps/services among established financial institutions are:

1. Network wealth

2. BT Panorama

3. CommBank

4. HUB24

5. ANZ

The top five ranked fintech startups are:

1. MoneyBrilliant

2. Frollo

3. Pocket book

4. Moneysoft

5. my prosperity

Sarah Simpkins

Sarah Simpkins is a journalist at Momentum Media, reporting mainly on banking, financial services and wealth.

Prior to joining the team in 2018, Sarah worked in commercial media and produced stories for a current affairs program on public radio.

You can contact her at [email protected].