With the Global Distribution Conference of the Luxembourg association of investment funds (Alfi) taking place this week (September 20-21), Laurent Marochini, head of innovation, Societe Generale Securities Services in Luxembourg, gives us his thoughts on technology in the financial sector.
The financial sector has undergone many transformations over the past decades. New technologies and innovation have accelerated the pace of transformation. Luxembourg and its ecosystem of asset servicers have not been spared from change with the transfer from a paper world to an electronic world, and more recently with the prospects of a digital world.
This transformation, which generates added value for clients and organisations alike, has only been possible with the combination of human and machine. The agility of organisations and their information systems coupled with human expertise are indeed the key to success.
To move forward in this new world, some asset servicers have collaborated with fintechs, which have also attracted talents from the financial sector looking for entrepreneurial challenges. At the same time, some banks have done the same by recruiting entrepreneurial profiles in order to develop this culture of agility, so necessary in this world where time-to-market has become an imperative.
We are not talking about a war for talents but rather about an evolution of profiles in terms of soft skills as well as digital skills.
The development of digital assets will undoubtedly accelerate the transition and the need to acquire these talents. To date, it is mainly start-ups and new players in the digital economy that have attracted them. Targeted recruitments have already been made in organisations that are specifically organising themselves, such as Societe Generale Forge (Societe Generale subsidiary). If adoption continues in the coming months or years, it is likely that the recruitment of these talents will be key.
Luxembourg will be able to leverage its efforts in research and targeted education on these subjects or attract talents from abroad as it does so well.
© 2022 funds europe
