On Thursday, April 23rd, 2020, SFTA hosted a virtual roundtable regarding the impact of the current pandemic on global WealthTech. After a brief introduction by the host and SFTA president John Hucker, the panelists discussed the challenges and opportunities the crisis offers and Switzerland’s role a global leader for WealthTech. Among the panelists were Martin Stadler (“Altoo”), Myriam Reinle (“Evolute”), Sinan Biren (“Canopy”) and Chris Gogol (“WealthArc”). The event was hosted online instead of at a live venue due to Covid19.
The roundtable focused on the impact the current crisis has on WealthTech activity in Switzerland. The panelists agreed that WealthTech seems to be one of the areas that has been less affected by the crisis, or even has profited from it. “Yes, the current situation is unprecedented. But on the other side, given the nervous financial markets, it helps WealthTech because there was never more need to have overview over your assets”, says Martin Stadler. “In a way, it is driving the digital transformation. People that have been reluctant to using WealthTech are now more prone to use it”, says Chris Gogol. Myriam Reinle agreed, saying “this crisis is certainly helping to be more open to technology and use it for more efficient asset management.”
The panel also discussed the long-term trend of WealthTech. “The WealthTech development has started before all of this. The coronavirus is just accelerating the development, and this will be the global and national trend”, says Sinan Biren. There was a consensus that Switzerland is the current leader in global WealthTech, and will continue to be after the crisis.
Article by Robert Matic