GEORGE KING, CHARTERED MCSI SENIOR WEALTH MANAGER AT MASECO PRIVATE WEALTH
underpinned by the need for good data.” Randeep entered the financial services
sector “just as the global financial crisis of 2007–8 was unfolding”. Since then, he has seen “more accountability and significant cultural changes”, with “colleagues behaving in a much more responsible manner”. He notes a shift in the “mindset of banking, being not just a utility but also a force for good, evident through the various sustainable finance initiatives”. These changes, together with a consumer-led focus and safeguards for those in vulnerable circumstances, have improved public perception of the sector a great deal, he says. His biggest concern about the sector is
“That we forget history and fall back into bad habits. It’s important that we refer to the mistakes of the past and ensure we don’t repeat them. Having said that, the pandemic has shown that the sector is in a much better position to withstand systemic shocks than it had been in the past.” User experience and empathy will be two essential skills for the future, he says.
View on virtual assets They are here to stay. The sector needs to very quickly ensure that within the public domain, safeguards are put in place to protect retail consumers from buying into things they don’t fully understand.
George is proud of the positive impact he’s had on people over the course of his career. “Solving problems which are central to client’s lives – going way beyond just investing their money – is what has motivated me from the start, over 30 years ago!” He has helped develop and mentor aspiring professionals, finding it “really touching to get messages years later from people whose knowledge, training, experience, confidence,
opportunities, and compensation were enhanced by our relationship”. The financial services sector has
become “much better” for clients over the past 30 years, with costs and fees decreasing and becoming more transparent, the “range and breadth of services and investments” increasing, and a focus on “capability and professionalism”, says George. He also notes an improved work–life balance in general and on a more personal level in comparison to his workdays in the US (from 1990 to 2007), “where it was a badge of honour to work the longest hours, eat lunch at your desk, not take all your vacation days each year, and call into the office each day of your holiday!” George’s biggest concern about the sector is that it is “too slow to adapt and adjust and innovate”. He therefore identifies adaptability and agility as two key future skills needed.
View on virtual assets They are more like contracts for difference in the way that people use them for speculation, almost a form of gambling rather than true investments at this stage.
KEVIN PETLEY, CHARTERED FCSI SENIOR REGULATORY ENGAGEMENT MANAGER AT CITI, DUBLIN, IRELAND
Kevin considers his top career achievements to be the implementation of the first Irish stock borrowing and lending operation in 2000 while he was working at a Dublin-based financial services firm, and design of an internal system to accommodate accounting, controls, and monitoring, following which “settlement performance and liquidity in the Irish securities market soared across the board”. Since 1996 he has been an external
specialist for the CISI, authoring four workbooks, three Professional Refreshers, and writing and editing questions for “at least a dozen modules”. He also sits on two wealth management exam panels. Over the past 30 years he has seen
“constant change” in the financial services sector, including the
“abandonment of traditional trading floors” and a narrowing gap “between the roles of IT staff and office analysts”. He expects all jobs to change in the next few years, and that two crucially important future skills will be adaptability and cybersecurity.
Looking ahead 30 years Financial services will be all about robotics and automation, wider use of trading algorithms, and as a result, much less ‘doing’ and more ‘managing and nursing processes’. Salaries will likely fall for traders and rise for key operational and risk staff. We will see fewer trading venues, with those that remain having an expanded global focus. Trading in shares in companies in any country will be as simple and cheap as trading in domestic shares. Related to that will be more global regulatory
initiatives and possibly a global regulatory body. Firms will confirm compliance by using self- certification automated models, reducing the need for regulatory intervention.
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CISI.ORG/REVIEW 35
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