VIDEO | On stage at PostTrade 360° Helsinki 2021, Accenture’s Thomas Brand gave an overview of the consolidation that is going on in the wealth and asset management industry – and its effects on the investment operations.  

“It is not only a size game. There is no clear correlation between profitability and assets under management,” said Thomas Brand.

“It is the scalability that is key.”

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Web-based fund broker Nordnet is entering the asset management space by putting up its own mutual fund company – while many established players, like Handelsbanken, are considering pulling down on the margin-pressed activities. The full picture of the industry is a complex one.

For the actors, understanding the strengths and weaknesses of one’s own operations is central, as one considers whether to scale up, outsource, invest, acquire or exit.

Thomas Brand advises that firms apply “adaptive thinking”, making sure they ask the right questions rather than necessarily coming up with answers immediately. The Covid-19 experience may have improved flexibility; quoting Winston Churchill, Thomas Brand urged institutions to “never let a good crisis go to waste”

Thomas Brand is Management Consulting Manager, Wealth & Asset Management Nordics, at Accenture.


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