WHAT SECTION????? LAST WORDS: BOOK REVIEW
When I want your advice … I’ll ask you for it But who or what will answer back? asks Will Dove as he explores the strange world of robo advisors in Paolo Sironi’s new comprehensive look at the future of automated wealth management
Paolo Sironi sets out to discover if wealth management robo advisors are just a sprinkling of Nutmeg or something much bigger… Flagrant headlines and clickbait journalism have become part and parcel of the fintech industry. There isn’t a day that goes by without some new blog post proclaiming blockchain technology will eliminate the need for world currency, or how MiFID II will upset the Earth’s orbit come January. Robo advisors have certainly experienced their fair share of hyperbole at the hands of these bedroom bards, which is why it’s refreshing to find a book that cuts through the cliches to explore where they’ve come from and how they’re evolving. In Fintech Innovation: From Robo-Advisors to Goal Based Investing and Gamification author Paolo Sironi sets out to discover if automated investment solutions are just a sprinkling of Nutmeg, or something much, much bigger. And if anyone is qualified to ask the question, he is. As far as fintech writers go, there are few with credentials as impressive as Sironi’s. Prior to joining IBM’s wealth management and investment analytics team, the author founded his own fintech start-up to supply wealth managers with goal-based investment (GBI) portfolios.
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Sironi drew directly from his own experience as an entrepreneur within the asset management industry to write his first book in 2015. Modern Portfolio Management examined the effectiveness of simulating real securities to reduce the risk for investors and wealth managers alike. As well as contributing to the innovative crowd-sourced project The Fintech Book, late 2016 saw Sironi publish Fintech Innovation in response to what he perceived to be the most disruptive influence his field has witnessed in decades: the robo advisor. In his latest book, Sironi helpfully begins by providing some definitions of terms on the cover. While I’m not sure that Sironi fleshes out his thoughts on gamification enough to justify its presence in his subtitle (the entire subject feels like a bit of an afterthought, which was crammed into the final chapter), he undoubtedly succeeds in validating his opinions on GBI through intricate reference to all aspects of the wealth management sector. The ramifications of robo advisors in terms of user personalisation, portfolio modelling, and traditional platforms are all carefully examined, allowing Sironi to paint a highly credible picture of just how
revolutionary this budding technology could prove to be. Fintech Innovation may not be the most concise of reads, but at least Sironi inserts the odd, welcome synopses that condenses the point he’s trying to make. Were it not for these, laymen such as myself would have a tough time drawing any concrete conclusions from Fintech Innovation, but instead they neatly help to summarise the concepts that frame each chapter. So, if you’re tired of scrolling through melodramatic blog posts in search of an informed study on the future of the wealth management industry, then look no further. Paolo Sironi’s Fintech Innovation is the most comprehensive evaluation of the future of the robo advisor that I’ve yet to come across, and Sironi’s ideas look set to hold water over the next few crucial years in the evolution of the automated investment solution. Whether you’re planning on remaining loyal to your current wealth manager, or tempted to betray your human compatriots in favour of software, this is one book that you’d be a fool to miss. Oh, and just for the record: no, he doesn’t believe humanity is going to be enslaved by them any time soon. Fintech Innovation: From Robo-Advisors to Goal Based Investing and Gamification By Paolo Sironi is published by Wiley and is available as a hardback (£30) or e-book (£22.99). Go to eu.wiley.com. Great for: Robo-philes keener on stacks than ‘I’ll be backs’ Best read: In a cosy corner of one of IBM’s supercomputer facilities Good read rating: ★★★★★
Summer 2017