At the time of writing (29 March), Theresa May has just triggered the official Brexit process in a letter to the EU, and Brexit was certainly one of the topics that dominated much of the recent ALFI European Asset Management conference.
ALFI took place in Luxemburg and attracted more than 500 delegates comprised of senior decision-makers from some of the world’s biggest and highest-profile asset management companies. There were presentations and seminars on many different subjects, but Brexit was undoubtedly something that was front of mind for a number of delegates at the conference, alongside the rise of fintech and the growing importance of transparency.
Daniel Tin, Regional Sales Manager DACH, and Camilla Braithwaite, marketing manager attended on behalf of eShare, and Daniel felt the conference was a great chance to further establish eShare’s Central European credentials:
“There was undoubted uncertainty around Brexit at ALFI and about what will unfold in financial services generally and asset management specifically. But there was also much positivity about the future, especially around how firms use technology, and we took this as an opportunity to emphasise our European credentials.”
“We’ve been active in DACH for a while now and have built up an impressive list of clients. The asset management firms at ALFI were impressed by the potential of BoardPacks and our newer solutions to help their organisation, and we have an impressive list of leads to work through now we are back.”
We conducted research with delegates at the eShare stand throughout the event, and the results highlighted the potential impact of Brexit – 89% of those surveyed felt that Brexit will have a significant impact on the European asset management industry. There was encouraging news for eShare though – 98% of respondents felt that technology will play a significant part in any future growth.
Beyond Brexit
There was also a major focus on fintech in the conference agenda. One speaker was talking about using Robo advisors for simple enquiries or advice. While this was mostly used for B2C rather than for investors (B2B), some are starting to use this technology, as it can free asset managers’ time so they can spend more time dealing with the more complex requirements of fund selectors.
Another session looked at what asset management clients want and there was much talk about the Millennials who are their future investors. By 2020, 50% of the population will be millennials and it is a group that wants and expects greater transparency from the companies they use for asset management. They want to know where it is that they are investing, and they care about investing in more ethical companies.
It emerged that many fund selectors agree that asset managers are not transparent enough. Transparency is something that BoardPacks can play a significant role in, so it was most encouraging to see the window of opportunity that is opening for us, with asset managers and in this part of the world overall.
If you’d like to learn more about our work with asset managers and in the DACH region, please get in touch directly with Daniel, or +49 (0) 151 5720 980 or via email at daniel.tin@boardpacks.com
