? Electronic Commerce - ecommerce - Private Banking

^{Electronic Commerce - ecommerce}

 ^{Electronic commerce operates in all four of the major market segments: business to business, business to consumer, consumer to consumer and consumer to business. It can be thought of as a more advanced form of mail-order purchasing through a catalog. Almost any product or service can be offered via ecommerce, from books and music to financial services and plane tickets.}

 

<sup>Ecommerce has allowed firms to establish a market presence, or to enhance an existing market position, by providing a cheaper and more efficient distribution chain for their products or services. One example of a firm that has successfully used ecommerce is Target. This mass retailer not only has physical stores, but also has an online store where the customer can buy everything from clothes to coffee makers to action figures.

When you purchase a good or service online, you are participating in ecommerce.</sup>

^{Some advantages of ecommerce for consumers are:}

^{- Convenience. Ecommerce can take place 24 hours a day, seven days a week.}

^{- Selection. Many stores offer a wider array of products online than they do in their brick-and-mortar counterparts. And stores that exist only online may offer consumers a selection of goods that they otherwise could not access.}

^{But ecommerce also has its disadvantages for consumers:}

^{- Limited customer service. If you want to buy a computer and you’re shopping online, there is no employee you can talk to about which computer would best meet your needs.}

<sup>- No instant gratification. When you buy something online, you have to wait for it to be shipped to your home or office.
- No ability to touch and see a product. Online images don’t always tell the whole story about an item. Ecommerce transactions can be dissatisfying when the product the consumer receives is different than expected.</sup>

 

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^{Private Banking}

 

^{For wealth management purposes, HNWIs have accrued far more wealth than the average person, and therefore have the means to access a larger variety of conventional and alternative investments. Private banks aim to match such individuals with the most appropriate options.}

 

^{In addition to providing exclusive investment-related advice, private banking goes beyond managing investments to address a client's entire financial situation. Services include: protecting and growing assets in the present, providing specialized financing solutions, planning retirement and passing wealth on to future generations.}

 

^{While an individual may be able to conduct some private banking with $50,000 or less in investable assets, some exclusive private banks only accept clients with at least $500,000 worth of investable assets. The rationale is that such high levels of wealth allow these individuals to participate in alternative investments such as hedge funds and real estate. Furthermore, this level of wealth often prevents liquidity problems.}