“We are only at the tip of the technology iceberg” – Lisa Dolly, CEO, Pershing
In her comments in front of over 2,000 financial advisors at the Pershing INSITE 2018 Conference in Orlando last week, Lisa Dolly, CEO of BNY Mellon/Pershing gave advisors a peek into their technological future.
Dolly stated that while the financial services industry has been lagging way behind in many key areas of technology development, advisors in the next few years will see technology happen in leaps and bounds and it will be substantially disruptive to the industry. In particular, advisors will see a wide range of technologies coming into their operating environment that will combine the physical, digital and biological worlds.
“Automation will simplify complex functions, robotics will improve productivity, self-service will provide autonomy and control to the user when they want it, artificial intelligence will predict behavior and allow us to customize the experiences that our clients are looking for, and biometrics will improve personal recognition” said Dolly.
In applying the latest technology trends for advisors, after extensive input from advisor clients as to their most pressing needs, three key areas have emerged for Pershing’s technology development focus. Some are still in development, but are well on their way:
1. Biometrics—facial/voice recognition and fingerprint ID for authentification and high risk transactions will enhance efficiencies, eliminate paperwork and meet security challenges.
2. Artificial intelligence—AI will provide predictive client insights to help understand clients better – their preferences and concerns - and help improve relationships by demonstrating how well that advisors know their clients and how they can deeply personalize their interactions.
3. Chatbots and conversational user interfaces—a tool of growing popularity among consumers, this technology provides a way to improve service and information flow 24/7 between clients and advisors.
Beyond APIs
James Crowley, COO, BNY Mellon/Pershing further explained Pershing’s technology priorities, in the same general session, by citing that the firm is currently running 75 different APIs (application programming interfaces) that they created across 400 tech companies and many Pershing clients’ technology stacks to ensure different systems throughout the firm are talking and working seamlessly with each other. But more importantly than just the numbers, he stated, is the depth and quality of the integrations that the firm is developing with key technology partners like Envestnet, SalesForce and MoneyGuidePro to reduce operational friction to allow advisors to be more efficient and productive.