WealthTech: the impact on the Asset and Wealth management industry of new, digital financial advisory models

Abstract

This elaborate aims to provide a clear picture of the dynamics of a shifting financial sector. Nowadays, the Asset and Wealth management industry appears more competitive and clustered than ever, while at the same time undergoing a radical wave of transformation unleashed by new technologies, above all Robo-advisors and Robo-4-advisors. The former facilitated the approaching of the lower segment of retail investors to financial advisory, promising low fees and agile registration process and onboarding. The latter is the product of portfolio composition software no more targeting mass customers but rather targeting human financial advisors, helping them deliver a smarter, more dynamic and customizable investment offer. This dissertation will extensively discuss the features of the aforementioned technologies and their impact on the business and organizational model of financial institutions, from the engagement of prospective clients to the investment proposition and portfolio calibration phases. The analysis ensuing revolves around the disruptive potential of new hybrid financial advisory models and how they are transforming the Asset and Wealth management industry. Furthermore, it will attempt to explain how the Covid-19 pandemic and the unprecedented times we live in are reshaping the entirety of the financial sector, fuelling a digitalization process that began its course decades ago, but that is just nowadays truly redesigning the industry.