Much of what it takes to be successful as an investment professional – careful research into individual securities and economic trends, and the good judgment to decide what can deliver the best investment returns – has not changed in my more than three decades in the asset management business. But, of course, so many other aspects of the business have. As I noted in a previous blog, I try to keep a paperless office, so everything I need to read or review is on my tablet – a reality I couldn’t have imagined when I started at OppenheimerFunds in 1986.
Today, technology is undoubtedly the biggest and most constant source of change in almost every aspect of our lives. As I look at the state of asset management today, there is no doubt that technology is transforming the industry. To address this topic properly, I turned to my colleague, Eric Meltzer, OppenheimerFunds’ Chief Technology and Operations Officer, who identified key areas in which technology is reshaping the landscape of asset management.
- Mobile
In today’s world, mobile devices are customers’ preferred channel for contacting and working with companies, no matter the industry. When smartphones first came into wide use in the middle of the last decade, the most forward-thinking software developers and website designers realized they needed to develop applications and designs that would work on handheld devices. By 2010, when the first generation iPad was introduced, tablets presented even more formidable competition to personal computers. It didn’t take long for developers to change from an approach of retrofitting PC-based applications and designs to designing with the mobile device in mind first.
While the technologists’ approach to designing applications has changed, our clients’ expectations that we will provide the same world-class experience have not – whether they contact us by phone, website, mobile device or any emerging technology.
Mobile devices are also changing how work gets done in the asset management business – both on the sales and investment side. When wholesalers are meeting with financial advisors, their tablets and smartphones provide access to a wealth of supporting materials on any topic they’re discussing. Those materials can easily be viewed during the meeting and then shared with the touch of a button so the advisor has easy access to them for use with their own clients.
Similarly, when portfolio managers and research analysts are on the road, their mobile devices provide a way to quickly capture ideas, record information and draw conclusions directly into the firm’s research notes system for instant viewing by the rest of their team. Everything is more real-time and immediate and helps to support informed and timely decision-making. Even for a firm like OppenheimerFunds, which has a long-term investment bias, the ability to react and make decisions in real-time can make an important difference.
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SOURCE: LinkedIn
Arthur Steinmetz
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