Berlin witnesses passing of investment baton
The new generation of techno-nerds may be guilty of speaking in jargon and much of what they pass off as new ideas are anything but, yet evidence of a generational shift in wealth management was clearly evident at the summer Fund Forum event in Berlin
The Fund Forum event – held in the thriving start-up hub of Berlin this year, so that finance professionals can no longer be tainted by Monaco’s Mediterranean excesses – is always a good barometer of the investment and wealth management industries.
There are still a few ageing founding fathers attending, regaling anyone within earshot about their glory days of pioneering the marketing of Ucits funds from Luxembourg, raking in fees for poor quality products and riding roughshod over the needs of investors.
But there is also a more welcome element of generational handover taking place. Highly capable leaders such as Schroders’ Massimo Tosato, Aberdeen’s Martin Gilbert and Mediolanum’s Furio Pietribiasi are holding teach-ins and workshops for younger professionals, discussing investment strategies, customer-centric approaches and use of technology.
This healthy transition, often badly lacking in the political cultures of many governments, is clearly taking place at the helm of the investment industry and must be encouraged.
Panels of new-age geeks, sporting earrings, canvas shoes, flamboyant socks and handkerchiefs, without a necktie in sight, are tending to dominate the technology-led discussions, replacing the suited talking heads of yesteryear, pontificating about asset allocation.
Frank discussion on fees, profitability and technology that benefits customers as well as fund managers has been long overdue
That is not to say the younger generation are necessarily more competent or savvy than their forefathers. There is still a huge amount of nonsense being talked by the new age techno-nerds. Previous decades of conference delegates heard about solutions, structuring and “skin in the game”. Now we are hearing about dashboards, disruption and data. Perhaps only 20 per cent of the presentations and panels contain new ideas and discussion points.
Many of the younger breed of smooth-talking fund salesmen would have you believe they invented multi-asset investing – one of the catch phrases of Berlin 2016 – but the concept and its application are as old as the industry itself.
Yet there is something refreshing about hearing new voices, not all of them popular amongst their industry contemporaries. Frank discussion on fees, profitability and technology that benefits customers as well as fund managers has been long overdue.
Investment professionals will miss their sun-kissed summer soirees on southern shores. But it’s high time for new models to emerge, created by a younger generation of players. Today’s vibrant capital city of Germany, which played a pivotal role in turning the tide of world history in 1989, could be just the venue for debating the new deal.
