“Many of the jobs and even the industries of today will be gone tomorrow” said the Governor of the Bank of England last year. In just five years, according to BMW, autonomous vehicles will be capable of making life or death decisions. In Seattle, Amazon is trialling a store with no cashiers or checkouts, consumers simply walk out of the store and are automatically charged for their shopping. Much has been written on the impact of technology on consumer industries, but what does the future look like for those tasked with the critical role of managing our money?
News announced recently by BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, offers a clue. The company announced a shift from active management to technology driven investing affecting $30bn of assets under management. Albeit small in terms of BlackRock’s overall assets under management the news has sent reverberations around the industry.