Driving change

THE asset management industry generally takes pride in innovation, mining new blends and permutations of asset classes and ways to eke out higher returns at lower risk.

But when it comes to harnessing technology to push the boundaries of the business - in terms of how funds are sold, for instance - Jean Raby, chief executive of Natixis Investment Managers (Natixis IM), believes the industry is a laggard.

"I do believe our industry has been slow or slower than others in coming to grasp the impact of digitisation and technology generally. That's both in terms of the investment process and customer relations. 2018 was perhaps the first year that all asset managers said digitisation is a priority.

"But a number of industries were disrupted five to 10 years ago. Most of my peers think we're already disrupted, but I don't think so. The disruption is yet to come. I want us to be at the forefront of change, that's why I'm trying to push the ball on various fronts to evolve our business because I think we have no choice."…