Page 37 - Investment Advisor July/August 2023

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 tech-
nology 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. Sharing the stage with Alicia
Ainslie simmonds and Jim Crowley Levine, head of investment strategy and
equity advisory solutions, Vince argued
operating officer, and Ainslie Simmonds, Schlosser noted that AI is also being BNY Mellon’s massive investment in tech-
Pershing X president. In addition to deployed to boost the functionality of nology is a clear reflection of the times.
highlighting the firm’s launch of a major Pershing’s NetX360 and NetXInvestor Simply put, Vince and Levine said, clients
new wealth management platform called solutions, which she called a “major inno- all across BNY Mellon’s many lines of
Wove, the executives also outlined their vation” that will help wealth advisors be business are demanding such innovation,
broader vision for their firm and the more efficient in a variety of ways. in large part because their own client-ser-
financial services industry at large. The Pershing leaders spent the rest vice needs and operations have become
Simply put, 2023 represents a time of of the keynote address highlighting the so much more complex and demanding.
change for the wealth management indus- launch of the Wove platform. Simmonds According to the pair, this outlook will
try, they said, and this should be seen as a said the platform goes beyond just having bring its challenges, but it will also bring
good thing. As the leaders of other major integrations of wealth managers’ favorite major opportunities for growth, both for
firms have emphasized in presentations and most powerful tools. It also deliv- firms like BNY Mellon Pershing and for
and interviews with Investment Advisor, ers a truly “interconnected experience” its clients. In addition to highlighting
tremendous growth is possible for wealth for advisors, she said, so they can go the big tech announcements the firm
managers who are willing to ask hard from planning and portfolio building to has made this week at the conference —
questions about their process. On the account management without having to particularly the launch of a new wealth
other hand, firms that fail to innovate are switch applications or re-enter data. management platform called Wove —
destined to struggle in the years ahead. “The goal is to help [wealth manag- Vince also took time to contextualize
While he did not speak at length about ers] be more productive and efficient some of the hottest technology topics
the emergence of artificial intelligence with their time so they have the ability to driving deep discussions inside and out-
in the advisory industry, Crowley did help serve even more clients,” she said. side the world of wealth management.
open his address with the topic, argu- As detailed by Simmonds, Wove will He argued that emerging technolo-
ing that generative AI programs such as feature the core applications advisors gies, such as generative artificial intelli-
ChatGPT have “enormous potential in need, from advanced data reporting and gence and blockchain ledger technology,
wealth management.” analytics to financial plan building are not just flashy news items that can
He noted that the firm has already and flexible billing. The platform be expected to fade into the background.
developed and continues to refine a plat- also supports cross-custodian trading Rather, they represent the start of a new
form called Eliza, which is named for and rebalancing. Additionally, advisors era of profound advancement that will
the wife of Alexander Hamilton, who will have access to increasingly popular very likely reshape the world of global
Photo: BNY Mellon Pershing back in the 1780s. The tool helps the eMerGInG TeCH CAn’T sPeLL The big takeaway for Vince and Levine?
founded the original Bank of New York
direct indexing investment strategies.
finance — and many other walks of life.
firm navigate AI internally, Crowley said.
Caution about such emerging technol-
CoMPLACenCy
ogies is warranted, but caution can’t
“We are already using AI to drive next-
spell complacency for firms that want to
If one could use a single fact or figure
best action insights and to power our
intelligence search function, and we will
thrive in the years and decades ahead.
to underscore the importance of tech-
Responding to a general query from
nology development for the financial
continue this innovation,” he explained.
July/August 2023 InvesTmenT ADvIsor 35