So what is an investment platform? According to our panel it's much like a supermarket- you go in and buy lots of things, however you're also doing all the cooking! We discuss how robo advisors can disrupt investment platforms, by scaling the 'do it for you' investment model through technology, and how this interesting supermarket analogy gets altered due to it.
We then move on to Millennial wealth and investment, exploring how newer generations don't have the benefit of buying property and seeing prices skyrocket, whilst also being saddled with debt as they begin their working lives. But how does a generation that has grown up with social media, a generation that is exposed to instant gratification so often- grow to understand the non-immediacy of investment? Or is this the responsibility of investment platforms- does this area need to be more accessible? Mitigating the jargon and bridging that financial literacy gap is imperative, but could governments rather than financial isntitutions be the answer in educating?
But is the challenge with long term investment an economic one rather than educational-inflation currently sitting at 3% means that many cash ISA's aren't really working. To quote our guest Jon Willis: "you may as well keep your cash under your mattress" and this is very much the view financially literate millennials take- citing the lack of excitement a reason for disinterest, hence- Bitcoin.
So how do we make it more accessible? Since millennials don't trust banks, as they have grown up with other brands and services that this generation of users are comfortable with e.g Facebook and Amazon. Is it through gamification? Is that the best way to bridge this literacy gap and make investment more accessible? Our wonderful guests dive deep into this subject and how the challenge posed to investment platforms can be answered.
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If you want to get in touch, drop us a line at podcasts@11fs.com (mailto:podcasts@11fs.com) or on Twitter @FintechInsiders (https://twitter.com/FinTechInsiders) and follow us on Facebook. Special Guests: Adam French, Jon Willis, Pete Townsend, and Shaun Port.