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Digital Wealth Management
Richard Cancro & Alexey Sokolin, Vanare (cont.)
“Smarter
technology
improvements,
based on machine
learning and neural
networks, may
also start to play a
role in the wealth
management
space.”
What is the long-term vision for Vanare? What will the company look like in 5-10 years from now?
We should expect the space to evolve very quickly. Robo-advisors will add more sophisticated investment strategies, including
hedging and alternatives, as well as financial planning and data aggregation capabilities. Traditional financial advisors will deepen
the relationships they have with clients and should expect the number of individuals that they can economically serve to increase
significantly, from 50 to 500 on average.
Smarter technology improvements, based on machine learning and neural networks, may also start to play a role in the wealth
management space. An algorithm that reads a client’s social media presence and financial data feed may be able to provide a true
and optimal view of that investor’s risk posture and financial needs. We expect to incorporate such tools into the existing advisor
workflow and into self-directed tools to make advice generally more sophisticated and accurate. Further, the shift of assets toward
younger generations will drive demand for such features and provide even more room for the industry to innovate.
At that point of time, Vanare will be akin to a space shuttle cockpit, controlled by the advisor, all with the simplicity of a self-driving
Google car. The advisor and the client relationship will be front and center, enhanced and amplified via technology. All the
infrastructure work – from account opening, to money movement, to investment and trading, to billing and CRM – will be automated
and controlled by the advisor to match their client’s comfort level. We expect to be the most innovative and intelligent ecosystem for
a financial advisor professional and their client.
Are there other areas of the wealth management that you think are ripe for innovation?
In addition to the areas discussed above, one particular area for innovation is money movement and asset location. We believe this
is the next frontier for automated advice – past allocation, trading, account opening, and data aggregation. Automated money
movement based on artificial intelligence that analyzes spending habits and conforms the appropriate savings to a financial plan,
structuring the investment in tax-efficient ways, could transform a meaningful portion of the industry.
There is also a lot of work to do generating an audience and prospects online for digital advisors. The advertising technology
revolution should be extended into financial services to better connect potential clients and advisors. Though there is an inherent
regulatory challenge, services should not shy away from trying to deliver this key piece of the value chain in a compliant manner.
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