At Bambu, we work hard to deliver different forms of content pertaining to the industry. Alongside our podcasts and blogs, we have curated a Wealthtech Digest that covers a wide range of topics that is delivered in a news-like fashion. On this week’s podcast, Dani and Ned dive into some of the Digest content, sharing their reactions and opinions on them.
One of the stories that Dani highlights is on how Walmart was launching their own Robo-advisor named Nazel. This was surprising as while Walmart is a huge brand in the US, it is not the type of company that people would associate in any shape or form to Fintech. Ned agrees that it is fascinating, and he feels that it makes a whole lot of sense. Walmart has a good understanding of how much people spend at their stores and what they tend to spend on. As a brand, Walmart also has loyalty, trust, and a huge following. Since customers tend to continue following the services of brands and companies they’ve been using, it makes perfect sense for Walmart to tap on their following and move into the Fintech space.
Even though the Fintech industry has had many new players over the years, Ned believes that it is still completely uncrowded. Competition is a great driver of innovation and there is a lot more innovation and personalisation to do. While wealth management has improved over the years, there are still many who do not have access to good financial advice. If we were to ask a random passerby on the street if they were using a Robo-advisor, many would just return the question with blank stares of confusion. Many think that Robo-advisory is a niche market that targets only tech-savvy Millennials or Gen-zs and there is not much room to grow. It is clear from our Digest content that this is not true and there are many other demographics that stand to benefit from Robo-advisory. Furthermore, we’ve learned that even Millennials or Gen-Z individuals do not fully understand what Robo-advisory entails. These lapses in understanding signal that the work is not finished and that there is still a lot of room for Fintech as an industry to progress.
Financial planning and wealth management has gotten a lot better. But are there enough tech providers? Certainly not. There are still many gaps in the market and many demographics that have yet to be effectively targeted. As it stands, Wealtech still sucks. However, things are looking up with the large amount of investment Fintech is seeing. We’re growing, and we must continue to do so.
