Understanding what clients want is as important as deciphering investment themes, according to leaders of some of the world’s largest asset management groups.
In a session dedicated to futureproofing the investment industry, seasoned leaders told attendees at the IMPower Fund Forum event in Monaco that the “how” solutions were delivered was becoming increasingly important.
“Our industry is in evolution,” said Daniel Gamba, president at Northern Trust Asset Management (pictured). “It is important for us to know how it is evolving.”
Gamba said having scale was a growing element within the sector, as it allowed managers to meet changing client demands.
These demands centre around personalisation, which can only be properly achieved by having both the technology and teams that understood how to use it, to create portfolios that meet specific needs.
“It is as important as having [the right] investment themes and sustainability [capabilities],” he said. NTAM oversees around $500bn, according to Gamba.
Massimo Tosato, chair of M&G Group and former executive vice chairman of Schroders plc, said understanding a local market’s make up and character was also vital.
“Managers must be careful,” said Tosato, noting selectivity of distinct channels in specific markets as key factor. He cited experience at a previous company, which was selling “30 or 40 strategies in 30 countries across a couple of channels. That is 2,400 competitive sales.”
Those statistics needed a “relentless cutting down”, he said.
He added that asset managers needed to follow a course of “remorseless automation” of business platforms, using AI to cut down time and costs across the entire business operation.
This should lead to a better overall experience for clients – which should improve revenues.
Tosato said acquiring new clients was “expensive”, so using data analytics to track and understand what they want was essential.
The IMPower Fund Forum takes place in Monaco June 24-26.