We are increasingly living in a world of open (but secured) data access between financial services providers and technologies that ingest that data to support consumer (and their advisers) experiences. Over the years Financial Simplicity has integrated with many investment platforms and we have noticed a few trends and observations as to the different types…
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There have been considerable changes in the way wealth management businesses have been valued in recent years, largely as a function of regulatory changes, margin pressures and industry ‘supply chain’ dynamics that come around from the above and also the introduction of innovations and technologies. When I talk with M&A folks, one of the primary discussions…
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We find all too often that firms have strong and well-founded views as to the way that they break up their universe of investments into their proprietary asset allocations, not only in terms of proportion but also in terms of definition. With more specialist focus and skills, firms are moving beyond what many would regard…
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The introduction of powered flight was a major innovation and was achieved through a significant change in the thinking of both what the problem was and the skill sets that actually got the successful group there first. At the time there was no real precedent in terms of innovation that could be used to base…
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A lot of people are asking me at the moment about what portfolio compliance is, and you may want to read my white paper here Well for professional money managers to date, simply put portfolio compliance is making sure a client’s investment portfolio is in accordance with any mandates or instructions that you agreed with them.…
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With increasing penalties and fines being issued by regulators for advice firms not actually providing advice for the fees that they have charged their clients, there is increasing focus on what is required to be done to demonstrate ongoing advice for ongoing fees to investors. One part of the discussion around this is firms considering…
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In many of the wealth management groups that I visit around the world, we find that they have a portfolio proposition that is either advisory, discretionary, or perhaps have both. What I find interesting though is why their propositions are such and whether they are open minded to the alternatives. In the advisory proposition camp,…
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So many firms are bringing in these things called ‘Model Portfolios’ and for some, they look like a new list of approved investments for clients, often in different proportions for different risk appetites. So what is the big deal? Well the big deal is that to be used properly, 2 key things must happen: Authors…
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There are some increasingly clear lines being drawn in the rapidly growing world of managed accounts. One of them relates to whether wealth managers are practices or businesses. “What ?” you may ask, or “Why does it matter ?”. Let me try and explain: First of all distinction between a practice and a business. For…
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With changing regulation around the world either in place, or moving to be in place quite soon, there is a fundamental shift occuring in the wealth management industry. This shift in many ways is that people who made their living from the selling of investment products (and were paid product commissions to do so), now…
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