Budge over Brexit: 2018 is all about innovation and specialism
09 February 2018
We have seen a vastly changing business landscape in response to economic events and shifting client needs over recent times – artificial intelligence, user experience, data integration & handling and blockchain. Now we’re into 2018, it’s difficult to predict what will come of political and economic affairs, but we can be sure that technological advancement, innovation, increased regulation and the need for specialist insight will be driving our industry’s agenda.
The wealth sector is known for being fairly traditional, but we are seeing signs of that beginning to change. Technology is moving through the gears at breath-taking speed and clients expect us to keep pace.
I’m excited about this year because it’s an opportunity for firms to seek partnerships with innovative outsourcers and develop specialist solutions, particularly as the new wealth generation present some fresh challenges.
PWC’s latest Global Fintech 2017 report showed that 77% of Financial Institutions will increase internal efforts to innovate and adopt blockchain as part of an in-production system or process by 2020. I expect these figures to increase as institutions look to gain a deeper insight into customer behaviour and ensure day-to-day operations remain efficient and cost effective.
In 2016 alone there were almost 27,000 new blockchain projects on the market, yet only 8% remain active, according to Deloitte’s paper. I think these statistics have the potential to change during a year of more blockchain R&D, so watch this space.
There’s a great need for specialism starting to surface across the industry. Tech-specialists are not the only ones in demand, regulatory experts are also highly sought after. With MiFID II and GDPR, businesses need to assess their current models and make necessary changes to comply with new laws. This is no easy feat for financial services firms and it will result in dramatic and extensive shifts throughout the industry, both in terms of staffing requirements and operational procedures. I’ll be monitoring this with interest! You can read about those regulations in this issue.
I can be found on LinkedIn, where I’ll be happy to hear your thoughts on any of these topics.
Until next time,
Chris Fisher
CEO