Panel 1 – The Role of Digital Within Advisor Firms

8:45am –9:30am

Moderator: Dennis Gallant, Senior Analyst, Aite Group

Panelists:

Kabir Sethi, Managing Director, Head of Digital Wealth Management, Bank of America Merrill Lynch 

Paul DeVriendt, SVP of Products, NexJ Systems

Peter Fishman, SVP, Head of Digital Investment Solutions, Citizens Bank

While the traditional wealth management model is heavily reliant on the human touch, the fully automated business-to-consumer robo-advisor model is all about algorithms taking the lead with little or no human intervention. Client demand is pushing wealth management firms to transition to a hybrid model, a comfortable middle ground providing digitally augmented capabilities and choice. Financial institutions have to determine where to add value by leveraging digital platforms and must know exactly when and how human intervention will be valuable. This panel discussion will explore these questions:

• How are leading full-service firms tackling the digital transformation challenge?
• How does the role of the financial advisor change?
• Are digital advice platforms financial advisors’ friends or foes?