Expert: Chris Skinner Facilitator: Ben MacGregor
Headlines:
- There will always be a need for new products, so development is key to keep pace with that
- A higher proportion of new funds generally flow into new products
Context:
Investors already have a wide range of products to choose from, so why innovate further?
There was a good discussion around the table over the changing appetite for different types of stocks, themes etc.
There was particular interest around the flush of new investment flows into funds launched in a specific year as well as how the macro-economic conditions may affect those flows particularly.
Four key trends shaping product innovation were identified and discussed:
- The Future
- Rise of individuals – individual investors are becoming more and more involved
- Trends in Access Innovation – i.e. tech has increased the accessibility of individual investors to invest in many different mediums etc.
- Trends in Capabilities Innovation – table discussion around shift to ‘non-financial’ alpha generation with wider opportunities to meet individual investor needs
Key takeaways:
- Individual investors through managers, advisers or direct investing are predicted to be the main growth engine of the industry
- Shifting product focus to these markets is a good way of delivering better growth moving forward
- Staying abreast of tech like digital wallets and tokenisation will provide cheaper and easier ways of connecting with this segment
