Bank Innovation

Finovate Fall 2013 wrapped up a whirlwind two days of FinTech innovation in New York on September 10 and 11. Eight of the 69 presenting companies were voted Best of Show by those in attendance.

Five of those eight winners had direct or indirect applicability for the investing/financial planning/wealth management space (LearnVest, MoneyDesktop, Motif, TipRanks and Yodlee).

Rising Above a Difficult Venue

This year’s venue at the Manhattan Center (which includes the historic Hammerstein Ballroom) was not the best for this kind of show. Finovate  is really two simultaneous events– the eight sets of back to back to back rapid-fire 7-mintue demos (no slides or Q&A), and the longer one-on-one interactions with the presenters at each of their booths for those who want to learn more and/or make connections. Past venues provided sufficient separation between the stage and the presenter booths to allow both to co-exist. That was not the case this year, and unfortunately both parts suffered a little.

Beyond rows of chairs close to the stage, better seats with tables were placed around the two balconies, with remote viewing via video screens also available on the 7th floor and its balcony (plus a press room in the basement) . This split up the crowd a quite a bit and did make it more difficult for the ongoing conversations and networking that are so valuable at a show like this. There were also a few audio glitches that detracted, but the WiFi was much better than last year at Javits Center.

Still,  it was great to see all of the newest innovations, meet the innovators behind them and catch up with my growing list of friends at these must-attend events.

Bank Innovators Council

(In a semi-related note, we held the launch party for the new Bank Innovators Council on the middle night of Finovate. More than 75 bankers, partners and thought leaders joined us on a Manhattan rooftop to kick off this new organization designed specifically to help bankers innovate together in ways they cannot do alone. More on this in a future post)

Finovate Fall 2013 Best of Show Winners

(in alphabetical order):

 

Read the entire story on finovate.com, where you will also soon be able to see videos of all 69 presentations from Finovate Fall 2013.

 

 

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[Read more…] about Too Small to Fail: The Partnership Driven Nature of FinTech Startups

Wealth management firms are increasingly turning to financial technology (FinTech) to enhance the client/advisor relationship, not just deliver self-service tools. It’s about time. That very subject is a prominent theme on this blog, and it comprises a lot of the work I do for financial services and FinTech firms.

Ernst & Young’s recent report Enhancing the Advisor and Customer Experience Through Technology cited three core themes that emerged from their survey of wealth management executive:

1. Leverage technology to provide better experience for clients and advisors
2. Focus on advisor effectiveness and mobile technology
3. Maximize ROI through technology sourcing and IT organization models
4. Continue to balance technology spend with compliance and regulatory requirements.

The survey found that 75% of wealth management firms surveyed have plans to increase client-facing time, and an equal share of firms plan to invest in mobile tools to improve advisor collaboration and effectiveness.

Will FinTech Replace Financial Advisors?

An article on the study on the Financial Planning website quoted E&Y principal Marcelo Fava as describing the rapid growth of self serve tools as a greater threat to mass market advisors than to advisors of wealthier clients;

“The low cost and effectiveness of that model is appealing, but as your move up in net worth and complexity it’s less so. Households that need tax effective financial strategies will still be willing to pay for the skills of personal advice.”

– Marcel Fava, Head of E&Y’s Americas Wealth Management  

(Read the entire Financial Planning article here: Ernst & Young: Face-Time a Priority for Financial Advisors)

In general, I tend to agree, although I will continue to watch the growth of newer entrants focused on disruptively cheaper alternatives. I don’t see FinTech replacing financial advisors for affluent clients any time soon, but I do see it is both a an opportunity and a threat. Remember the Innovator’s Dilemma anyone?

I also continue to see clients gravitating towards more omni-channel solutions, where clients can choose self-serve, advisor-assisted and advisor-driven options when and how they see fit, on any technology platform or face-to-face. We are not even in the first few pitches of the first inning on this, but it promises to be an exciting game.

(See Clients Do Not Want Help. Until They Do)