The verdict in three sentences
For a London wealth management firm with 1,200 clients, a custom client portal costs, as a 2026 order of magnitude, between £21,000 and £51,000 (25,000 to 60,000 EUR) excluding VAT, against £7 to £17 (8 to 20 EUR) per client per month for an off-the-shelf SaaS. Beyond 18 to 24 months the custom build almost always becomes cheaper, provided strong customer authentication, UK or EU hosting and the audit trail expected by the FCA and UK GDPR are built in from day one. The realistic timeline is 3 to 5 months, including testing and compliance sign-off.
What the portal must replace: emailing statements
Sending valuation statements as email attachments creates three concrete problems for a wealth manager: the document travels without end-to-end encryption, proof of delivery is weak during an inspection, and the team wastes a lot of time preparing mailings. A client portal centralises statements, regulatory documents (terms of business, suitability reports, risk profile questionnaires) and secure messaging.
| Item | Email (current situation) | Secure client portal |
|---|---|---|
| Preparing quarterly statements | 2 person-days per quarter | Automatic generation, 2-hour check |
| Proof of document delivery | Unreliable read receipts | Time-stamped log per client |
| Security of wealth data | Unencrypted attachment | TLS 1.3 and encrypted storage |
| Updating the risk profile | Paper or PDF exchanges | Online questionnaire with e-signature |
| Client queries ("where is my policy?") | 15 to 25 calls a week | Self-service access |
| Regulatory archiving | Scattered mailboxes | Document vault kept 5 years minimum |
The gain is not only measured in hours: an FCA review or a client complaint is far easier to handle when every document delivered is time-stamped and attached to the right file.
Custom or SaaS: the 2026 figures
SaaS tools built for wealth managers deploy quickly, but per-client pricing weighs heavily on a 1,200-account book. A custom build needs a higher upfront investment, then a stable running cost.
| Criterion | Market SaaS (2026 order of magnitude) | Custom portal (2026 order of magnitude) |
|---|---|---|
| Upfront cost | 0 to 5,000 EUR set-up | 25,000 to 60,000 EUR |
| Monthly cost for 1,200 clients | 9,600 to 24,000 EUR | 800 to 1,800 EUR (hosting and support) |
| Cumulative 3-year cost | 345,600 to 869,000 EUR | 53,800 to 124,800 EUR |
| Brand experience | Limited to vendor theme | Fully in your firm's colours |
| Connection to internal tools | Standard connectors only | APIs to your back office and platforms |
| Hosting | Depends on vendor | UK or EU data centre of your choice |
| Go-live timeline | 4 to 8 weeks | 3 to 5 months |
At Kolonell, a custom web application follows the grid of 11/10/2026: 2,500,000 to 4,000,000 FCFA (3,810 to 6,100 EUR) for a simple scope, 4,000,000 to 7,000,000 FCFA (6,100 to 10,670 EUR) for medium complexity and 7,000,000 to 15,000,000+ FCFA (10,670 to 22,870+ EUR) for a complex project. A wealth management portal with strong authentication, a document vault and platform integrations usually sits in the top band.
Compliance requirements to budget for
Compliance is not an add-on at the end. It shapes the architecture and often represents 15 to 25% of the development budget.
| Requirement | Concrete implementation | Budget impact (2026 order of magnitude) |
|---|---|---|
| Strong authentication | Password plus TOTP or SMS code, optional FIDO2 key | 2,000 to 5,000 EUR |
| UK GDPR | Records of processing, consents, access and erasure rights | 1,500 to 4,000 EUR |
| FCA audit trail | Time-stamped log of documents delivered and read | 2,000 to 4,500 EUR |
| UK or EU hosting | London data centre, encrypted backups | 150 to 600 EUR per month |
| Penetration test before launch | External audit by a CREST-accredited firm | 4,000 to 9,000 EUR |
| Annual security review | Updates, vulnerability scanning | 1,500 to 3,000 EUR per year |
Also plan for maintenance: at Kolonell, plans range from 35,000 to 120,000 FCFA per month (50 to 180 EUR) depending on service level, excluding specific hosting.
Mini case study
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James, managing partner of a wealth management firm in London (illustrative persona), serves 1,200 clients with 4 advisers and 2 assistants. His cheapest SaaS quote is 8 EUR per client per month, i.e. 9,600 EUR a month and 345,600 EUR over 3 years.
The custom portal scoped for his needs costs 48,000 EUR, plus 1,300 EUR a month for hosting, maintenance and security, i.e. 94,800 EUR over 3 years. The difference exceeds 250,000 EUR. On time, the 2 person-days per quarter spent on statements drop to 2 hours, and the 20 weekly follow-up calls fall by roughly half: at 15 minutes per call, that frees about 130 hours a year for the assistants.
FAQ
How long does it take to launch a wealth management client portal?
Allow 3 to 5 months from scoping to go-live. The first 4 to 6 weeks cover design and compliance validation, then 8 to 12 weeks for development and testing.
Must the data be hosted in the UK?
UK GDPR allows transfers to countries with adequacy status, including the EU. A London data centre at 150 to 600 EUR a month reassures clients and simplifies due diligence questionnaires from platforms and providers.
Does strong authentication put off older clients?
An SMS code or an authenticator app remains accessible to the vast majority of clients. A support procedure and a guided first login cut support calls by 30 to 50% in the first month.
Can the portal connect to our current back office?
Yes, if the vendor offers an API or regular exports. An integration typically costs 5,000 to 15,000 EUR depending on the number of data flows (holdings, transactions, documents).
Is custom still relevant for a firm with 300 clients?
At 300 clients, a SaaS at 8 EUR a month costs 2,400 EUR monthly, or 86,400 EUR over 3 years: the gap with a simple portal narrows sharply. A case-by-case analysis is needed.
Let's scope your project. We scope your client portal (documents, authentication, integrations) with an indicative budget and a 3 to 5 month plan. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
