Financial consultancy, Conte (Anasf): “The digital world at our service”

“I am happy that in this edition of ConsulenTia we managed to combine points of view and perspectives, even if not necessarily oriented towards the same objectives”. He is very satisfied Luigi Contepresident ofAnasfat the end of ConsulenTia24, the event which in its various events saw the participation of political and institutional speakers, managers of financial consultancy networks as well as representatives of civil society and sport. Because of Artificial intelligence there has been a lot of talk in the various debates, it is natural to ask whether systems that use theTo the generative cannot become competitors of the financial advisor. “No, because competition arises from completeness and none of the systems can be defined as complete to the point of being able to develop a substitution effect, nor us towards technology, nor the opposite. They are complementary components, but even more I believe that they are vector forms that are oriented in a common, albeit evolutionary, direction. The problem of overlap, therefore, does not arise, rather new challenges arise. The first concerns the dimension of digital humanism which must represent a sort of safeguard so that there is no gap between human nature and digital nature or an incestuous overlap that does not create value but destroys it. Then there is the ethical dimension of this digital migration, which in any case will happen, it is an inevitable process.”

We are talking about no longer financial consultancy, but patrimonial consultancy, about the mobilization of savings towards the real economy. Will all this lead to a change in the figure of the financial advisor, in his way of working, in the relationship with the principal companies and also with the client, starting with the remuneration methods?

“It is a change already underway. The integration of professionalism through team work allows us to offer a service model that is no longer aimed at the product, but at the ‘therapeutic’ dimension of consultancy, which requires diversified and integrated skills. Today, following an investor in his complex dynamics determines a series of needs to which a solution must then be found. Teamwork is a first step. The sending companies are structuring themselves well, but there is still a lot to do. One of the most interesting stimuli that emerged at the conference is to treat the digital theme as a service dimension, which will now have to focus on the activity carried out by the financial advisor, through increasingly sophisticated tools”.

And what about remuneration?

“Here too it will be a natural process which, first of all, will mark the distinction between the cost and the value of the service offered by financial consultancy, recognizing and enhancing this last aspect. We hope that financial consultancy will be increasingly used by citizens and that the figure of the savings professional is consulted more and more, like a professional in the medical field”.

The amounts managed through consultancy networks have grown, but the number of consultants has not grown to the same extent. Are the networks reluctant to expand their workforce or is there an objective difficulty in recruiting?

“A bit of both. We can imagine having to project ourselves towards a future in which the quantity of investors served is larger and we can do this thanks to two factors that can be used simultaneously. The first is represented by the technology for generating processes, which helps us free up time and increase the number of clients served. The second is the entry of young people into the profession, which must not be understood as generational change, but as interaction between different generations. An older consultant who continues to working does not take away a young person’s job, but can allow them to become a valuable financial advisor more quickly. This interaction between generations is then linked to the generational interaction that is taking place in society: wealth is

held mostly by people over sixty and here too there will be a substitution effect, a transfer of wealth to generations who speak different languages ​​and who have a different relationship with money”.

The hope is that there will also be the creation of new wealth.

“It is the theme of private savings as a growth engine for the real economy. We must finance Italian business to ensure that savers’ money is not only protected but also increased. Our job is to identify solutions capable of combining search for a healthy return with risk control and support for the economy”.