The 500 investment providers, 150 of them based in Asia-Pacific, were polled in January. They include full-service financial providers, independent investment advisers, mutual fund houses, alternative investment firms, fintech companies, as well as private family offices and private banks.
They were asked “Which digital technologies does your organisation expect to be applying to your investment management business in five years?” 64% of respondents picked blockchain.
“It’s critical to be able to provide timely and accurate fund performance metrics. Using big data and digital technologies, we are able to price portfolios up to 30 minutes faster — which has had a transformative impact for some of our clients,” said Liz Roaldsen, head of digital transformation at State Street said in the report.
Q: Which digital technologies does your organisation expect to be applying to your investment management business in five years?
|
|
Global average |
Asia-Pacific |
||
|
China & Hong Kong |
Japan |
Australia |
||
|
Blockchain |
64% |
62% |
84% |
64% |
|
Predictive analytics |
50% |
38% |
58% |
52% |
|
Artificial intelligence |
49% |
46% |
68% |
46% |
|
Real-time tracking systems |
47% |
44% |
54% |
46% |
|
ID software based on biometrics |
38% |
44% |
22% |
36% |
Source: State Street survey
Blockchain, derived from bitcoin, is a digital-encrypted transaction ledger hosted across a network of computers. It is seen as a huge disruptor of the financial industry, driving transparency, traceability and trust.
Respondents from Japan showed strong expectations of adopting blockchain and AI.
Those in China and Hong Kong, however, are more interested in using biometric technology, which makes customer verification more secure. Predictive analytics, which spots client trends to help future decision-making, showed the least demand among the five technologies.
Simplification focus
The survey also interviewed 2,000 investors across 10 markets with assets at least $100,000.
Asked about their investment behaviour over the next five years, a third of them said they would “focus on reducing management fees and trading costs” and “invest more in non-traditional, alternative investments”.
Also, 37% of them said they wish to consolidate assets with fewer firms to simplify investment management”, while 32% said they will use wealth advisors more than self-directed investments.
At least half of them (50%) expected to have “anytime, anywhere mobile access” to their portfolio.
“Over the next five years, investing behaviors across the board will change − from how investors interact with providers to the products they will need. Investors are principally looking at more personalisation and anytime/anywhere mobile access”, according to the survey report.
