2. Disruptive Trends

The financial world has been in transformation as seldom before. In this chapter we explore the key drivers for change and explain trends and its implications in the context of the banking, wealth, and asset management industry. While some developments are going to disrupt business models of commercial and corporate banking and change the way we exchange currency, stocks, derivatives, and commodity in the near future, others may just incrementally improve wealth management services. It is crucial to grasp the speed and magnitude of disruptive trends to be able to master the strategic change. Based on the synthesis of studies from consultancy firms, scholars, and own research and experiences, we compiled four trend categories that converged to create a new business paradigm, namely, market, client, regulation, and technology. While demographics lead to an inevitable intergenerational wealth shift, in Asia, rapidly emerging growth regions generate enormous new wealth. Incumbent banks are threatened by e-commerce and technology firms like Alibaba and Tencent gaining market shares. Millennials and other underserved client segments are predisposed to switch their financial advisors. They are requesting digital banking platforms with robo-advisors, virtual agents, crowdfunding, and cryptocurrencies instead of brick-and-mortar banks and ATMs. We suggest embracing cognitive technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to increase efficiency and effectiveness and satisfy the increasingly sophisticated demand of the next-generation clients. Every market participant needs to comply with new regulations to stabilize the global financial markets and to control shadow banks. Look at these developments as a chance to regain trust, innovate, and grow.