The fund industry is our domain. In 2002, we delivered paperless statements and web dealing to a client, yet their broad adoption took many years. We have continued to innovate since then, and each time the same pattern repeated. Only a handful of forward-looking clients acted and changed; the rest of the industry moved slowly.
Why is this? Sure, the asset servicing industry is regulated, but regulation is not the cause because some asset servicers move fast.
Most people say that technology alone can drive change. Technology has always been available, so is this really the case? Today, white box machine learning is ripe for use in asset servicing to accelerate decision-making and automate tedious tasks, but has yet to be really exploited.
Most agree that shrinking profits are a challenge; some say disruption by an unexpected entrant is their biggest threat. Yet we see only a handful of organisations thinking and planning ten or more years ahead and transforming themselves. Most only use technology reactively to solve immediate, proximate problems.
To investigate what impedes desired change in the industry, we teamed up with Funds Europe for this survey.
Are the results surprising? Not really. Over 70% of respondents say technology is available and affordable, so technology alone does not drive change. Results show that change is the responsibility of the entire organisation. The organisation needs a compelling vision, clear communication across all levels, everyone’s support, and energised teams that will drive innovation and change.
Then, of course, technology can be applied.
By Janusz Lorenc, CEO Metrosoft
©2019 funds europe
