Asset and wealth management: cautious, but focusing on productivity to improve the outlook
The CEOs in asset and wealth management (AWM) we polled in our 22nd annual survey are less optimistic than in recent years, but they believe they can improve their prospects by focusing on productivity.
The challenges AWM leaders report fall into three main categories:
- Globalisation is opening up new markets and opportunities for asset managers, but it’s also making it more complex to operate.
- Uncoordinated regional and global regulation is increasing costs and exposing the weakness of legacy technology when it comes to producing the information required by regulators and other stakeholders.
- The markets remain volatile, with no end in sight.
The measures required to address these challenges also fall into three main categories:
- Adopting technology more aggressively. For example, nearly all AWM CEOs agree that AI will significantly change the way they do business
- Adopting agile M&A to achieve the benefits without the drawbacks
- Attracting, developing and retaining 21st century talent to exploit critical growth opportunities, and provide an environment these people will want to work in
Asset and wealth managers have to replacing inadequate, expensive legacy systems with new technology platforms across the business. But digital transformation will require new types of employees with the hard and soft skills to collaborate in an increasingly data-driven environment. Emerging technologies will reduce expenses and improve profitability – but only if AWM operators discover new ways of collaborating, both within the organisation and with external providers such as fintechs.
