ASSET MANAGEMENT & CAPITAL MARKETS In the world of capital markets, technology has played a key role for ages, and fintech is now making an impact there as well. Advances and new applications in fintech such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Robotic Process Automation (RPA), distributed ledgers and cloud technologies have helped deliver innovative solutions to complex front, middle and back office processes. Incumbents view challengers as potential partners, to improve their offering, as their own capacity and investments are more thwarted towards maintaining their legacy systems. For the asset managers, including pension operators, fintech is mostly about
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robo-advisory driving efficiency and compliance with new regulations.
What key areas are impacted? Technology in capital markets is traditionally used to increase the efficiency of financial systems, whether operationally or as a value proposition in generating new revenue. From an operational perspective, fintech is used by capital market firms to reduce cost, increase efficiencies, build better client relationships and facilitate regulatory compliance. Distributed ledger technology (DLT) solutions are notable for introducing new, groundbreaking ways to access capital, such as initial coin offerings (ICOs) as well as providing new ways for settlement of transactions. Players in the field include standalone firms and spin offs from established investment banks. For Asset Managers the drive to reduce costs is working in both front and backend: Roboadvisors are making investing more accessible for consumers with less assets and appeal increasingly