If one could use a single fact or figure to underscore the importance of technology development for the financial services industry today, BNY Mellon's annual tech spend would be a good choice.
According to BNY Mellon President and CEO Robin Vince, the firm has put more than $3.5 billion into technology innovation in the last year alone, and that figure is unlikely to fall in the years ahead as the global organization strives to develop and integrate new capabilities for its staff and clients.
Vince made that case during a keynote address given before some 2,000 of BNY Mellon Pershing's wealth management clients gathered for the firm's Insite conference in Orlando. Sharing the stage with Alicia Levine, head of investment strategy and equity advisory solutions, Vince argued BNY Mellon's massive investment in technology is a clear reflection of the times.
Wealth Tech in Focus
Simply put, Vince and Levine said, clients all across BNY Mellon's many lines of business are demanding such innovation, in large part because their own client-service needs and operations have become so much more complex and demanding.
According to the pair, this outlook will bring its challenges, but it will also bring major opportunities for growth, both for firms like BNY Mellon Pershing and for its clients.
In addition to highlighting the big tech announcements the firm has made this week at the conference — particularly the launch of a new wealth management platform called Wove — Vince also took time to contextualize some of the hottest technology topics driving deep discussions inside and outside the world of wealth management.
He argued that emerging technologies, such as generative artificial intelligence and blockchain ledger technology, are not just flashy news items that can be expected to fade into the background. Rather, they represent the start of a new era of profound advancement that will very likely reshape the world of global finance — and many other walks of life.
The big takeaway for Vince and Levine? Caution about such emerging technologies is warranted, but caution can't spell complacency for firms that want to thrive in the years and decades ahead.
How Vince Views AI
Responding to a general query from Levine, Vince said artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities are an important area of investment across the entire BNY Mellon organization — and that a lot has already been accomplished.
