Consumer wealth management platforms on the horizon
Institutional grade investment management technology, typically only accessible by advisers, will inevitably become available to consumers, according to the founder of Financial Simplicity, a digital wealth management platform.
Speaking at the IMAP InvestTech Virtual Conference, Stuart Holdsworth, Financial Simplicity chief executive, said the industry was moving toward adopting a consumer-focused business model but it was not quite there yet.
“The business model around that and the sophistication of feeding data in and out of that sort of technology is yet to be resolved in many cases, but I do suspect over time that it will become available,” Holdsworth said.
Holdsworth pointed to Amazon’s recent foray into wealth management with their $40 million investment into Smallcase, an Indian consumer-focused platform which offered technology typically only available to advisers.
“The power of consumer brands and the people who have mass consumer access – [I think] it represents a real threat to the way the investment industry exists today,” he said.
Illustrating his point, Holdsworth said it only took Alibaba four years to build the world’s biggest money-market fund while Fidelity took 34 to get to the same level.
“It's representative of what the power of people with very strong consumer brands can do; when you start combining sophisticated technologies, the game can change,” he said.
AUTHOR
Liam Cormican
Recommended for you
The corporate regulator has cancelled the AFSL of a Perth advice firm, with the firm having previously seen its licence temporarily suspended in 2020.
Having proposed changes earlier this year, ASIC has clarified how it will support licensees with additional relief under the reportable situations regime.
AMP has partnered with BlackRock and research house Lonsec to provide a model portfolio capability on its North platform that offers “portfolio customisation at scale” to advice practices of all sizes.
Money Management rounds up actions ASIC took against advice individuals in the first half for FY25 from exam falsifications to dishonest conduct.
