Openness to change established ways of working elevates businesses. One advisor who used to say "I want to listen more" can now analyse meeting transcripts and realise it was him who used to speak 78% of the time.
Not to mention that active listening means way more than just being silent.
New tools and workflows
Once upon a time, the industry standard tool was the HP BA II Plus calculator. Today it is mainly used in the CFA exam.
Then came Microsoft Excel in 1985, initially only for Apple Macintosh. Currently the standard tool.
VBA later automated repetitive workflows in Excel. Now AI is here to speed up analysis and to correct mistakes faster than anybody would notice.
An analyst with only Excel will soon look like an industry veteran who only uses the HP BA II Plus calculator.
Rising customer expectations
Customer expectations are increasing. They want fast, efficient processes. Who wants to wait weeks for a response if you can get answers in minutes, if not seconds?
In Germany, advisors' recommendations are heavily scrutinised by a range of technology providers to assess the value of the advice clients got for their money.
Some incumbent wealth management firms are slower to plan what to change.
It's just AI, a next-generation technology provider and me — said a solo IFA founder.
Meanwhile, start-up wealth managers challenge old structures. Nora at Add Velocity keeps warning solo founders to focus on business continuity at the first signs of commercial success at any start-up. Hire a couple of people early. Forget working solo if you plan to build a serious business.
Business transformation on the buy-side
Business transformation on the buy-side is where Add Velocity comes in. Machine learning, AI and data projects delivered in close collaboration with client teams. We help realise high return on investment at the firm level by assessing and prioritising pilots, then turning them into prototypes and products.
Our senior software engineer, Mathieu, also joined and found the presentations thought-provoking.
We thank Stephen Wall for organising this fabulous event.