Evolving regulation and advanced technology will change how investments are bought and sold.
If you are an investor, this will affect you.
Disclosure and transparency requirements in the financial services industry means more information will be collected from you and more disclosure will be provided to you.
Buying an investment isn’t as simple as it once was. Ultimately that is a good thing.
Investors should have the benefit of safeguards. That amounts to greater information being communicated between the investor client and the financial advisor.
However, this adds up to more time spent, both in the purchasing and management of the investments, and time is in short supply these days.
In the digitally connected world we live in today, experts say instant results are making us less patient.
Data collected from a 2017 YouGov poll of 2,489 U.S. adults show 41 per cent of those surveyed said that technology has made them more impatient than five years ago.
And this has a lot to do with customer experience.
Investors want the benefit of more disclosure but want this process done as time efficiently as possible. So does the advisor.
Enter the ever-expanding world of FINTECH and REGTECH: financial and regulatory technologies.
Robo-advisors provide digital financial advice or investment management, and have been gaining popularity over the last several years.
The initial market for the online software was the end investor — those who preferred to manage investments on their own. The robo-advisor option was seen as a good solution for the do-it-yourself investors.
Robo-technology is now targeting a new end-user: the financial advisor.
One of Canada’s mutual fund companies is using robo-advisor technology to launch a platform for financial advisors who sell their funds.
Peter Intraligi, president of Invesco Canada Ltd., released a statement saying one of his company’s global priorities is to help financial advisors navigate the changing environment of regulation and technology.
If technology can be used successfully by do-it-yourself investors, then why not incorporate those same benefits to augment the advisor-client relationship?
Industry regulation and technology have evolved. So have the habits of consumers.
By having more efficient ways of doing business, the financial service industry, and those who regulate it, will create an enhanced consumer experience.
Peter Watson is an agent of, and securities products are provided by, Aligned Capital Partners Inc. (ACPI). ACPI is a member of the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) and the Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF). The opinions expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of ACPI. Peter Watson provides wealth management services through Peter Watson Investments.
