WEALTH MANAGERS NEED TO DISRUPT THEMSELVES (20th May 2021)

A FUTURE OF FINANCE WEBINAR WITH WEALTH MANAGERS, PRIVATE BANKS AND TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES

Thursday May 20 2021, 14.00 – 15.00 UK time

On the face of it, wealth managers ought to be full of confidence. An ageing population is about to bequeath its accumulated wealth to a younger generation still at work. The tax system is designed to encourage saving but also sufficiently complex to create the appetite for technical advice. Digital technology is cutting the cost of acquiring and servicing customers. Stock markets buoyed by extraordinary monetary policies mean revenues based on ad valorem fees increase effortlessly. Capital requirements are lower than in banking. Yet wealth managers nevertheless find themselves under margin pressure. Clients are less willing to pay fees, especially for active asset management, but are demanding better digital services, access to environmental social and governance (ESG), social impact, crypto-currency, digital asset and other alternative asset classes. They also want increasingly detailed tax and investment advice. A range of new entrants, armed with new technologies and rich customer data, are taking the next generation business the incumbents once took for granted. And clients, who remain more loyal to their advisers than the firms the advisers represent, are more willing to move than ever before. The burden of regulatory compliance is getting heavier. As a result, wealth managers find their revenues under pressure from the shift to passive investing while investment in new technology, compliance and a different type of talent is driving up their costs. As firms struggle to bring revenue into better alignment with costs, the wealth management industry is consolidating, placing further pressure on the cost structures of the firms that remain independent. This webinar, hosted in conjunction with FinTech Wales, will explore how wealth managers are adapting their businesses to margin pressure, mutating competitive threats, rising demands to invest in new technology and data and the difficulty of combining personal relationships with digitised offerings.

Topics of discussion will include:
• Do demography, economic growth, tax wrappers incentives and stock market performance still add up to a growth market for wealth managers?
• Is there now a clear relationship between scale and profitability in wealth management?
• Are prices falling faster than costs – and, if so, why?
• What is the impact on costs of increased merger and acquisition activity?
• Is regulatory compliance becoming an unaffordable burden?
• How can wealth managers strike the right balance between personal relationship management and digitisation of the client interface?
• How are wealth managers meeting client demand for more detailed technical advice?
• Is investment in new technology affordable now and sustainable into the future?
• How can technology be used to improve the client experience?
• What should wealth managers outsource?
• Should wealth managers develop shared service solutions?
• What does the shift from active to passive management mean for wealth managers?
• How are wealth managers responding to the pressure to develop ESG personalities and products?
• Are wealth managers seeing and meeting client demand for crypto-currencies and tokenised private assets?
• How can wealth managers compete with asset managers on investment performance?
• Should wealth managers exit the asset management business?
• Does transparency improve investment performance?
• What impact are new entrants having on incumbent wealth management firms?
• To what extent do wealth managers use data to understand their customers?

Panellists:

Sarah Williams-Gardener – CEO at Fintech Wales https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-williams-gardene…

Andrew Russell – CEO at Wealthify https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-russell-7b24a31…

Professor Arman Eshraghi – Professor of Finance and Investment at Cardiff University https://www.linkedin.com/in/arman-eshraghi-205b822…

Gareth Lewis – Co-Founder and CEO at Delio https://www.linkedin.com/in/garethrlewis/

Moderated by Dominic Hobson Co-Founder at Future of Finance https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominic-hobson-49b8222…

Trade and Invest Wales

With an established Financial and Professional Services Sector and home to some of the biggest FinTech companies, including Starling Bank, Monzo, Currencycloud and home grown Admiral, Wales’ FinTech sector is flourishing. The Welsh Government’s Trade and Invest Team helps businesses looking to grow or establish new operations in Wales. Working with businesses to deliver a tailored package of support, including advice on financial incentives and support, skills, recruitment, supply chain, business networks and property and location.

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FinTech Wales

FinTech Wales is the independent membership association and champion of the FinTech and Financial Services industry in Wales. The association has established an Advisory Board of 20 people including representation from Welsh companies such as Confused.com, Admiral, The Principality and Capital Law. FinTech Wales acts as a global voice and advocate for FinTech, introducing the benefits to FinTech entrepreneurs and innovators of establishing a business in Wales, as well as nurturing and supporting those companies already in Wales.

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For Further information please contact Wendy Gallagher on wendy.gallagher@futureoffinance.biz