Asset management would be nothing without end-investors and those who guide their decisions, and so, for Matt Oomen, a major influence on the sector’s own evolution over the past decade has been the shift from financial advice to financial planning.
“Throughout the markets we cover, this culture of planning has absolutely come to the fore,” says BNY Mellon Investment Management’s global head of distribution.
“Just to quote some recent data from the US, advisers there say they want to spend 70%-plus of their time with clients – as opposed to the 70% they currently spend on admin. Still, wherever you go, advisers are looking to spend more time with their clients – and the most value they believe they provide their clients is really talking to them about their lives, their goals and their desired outcomes.
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“For their part, of course, the job of an asset manager is to help the adviser implement the chosen solution from an investment perspective. And, if everyone stays in their swim lanes and does their job incredibly well, the asset manager should in theory have a significant amount of resources and expertise focused on delivering on those desired outcomes.”
This adviser-asset manager relationship is “absolutely critical”, says Oomen, who began his career in 1995 at Zurich Insurance. He joined Newton Investment Management in 2001, the year before it was fully acquired by the then Mellon Bank, and held a number of senior roles at BNY Mellon IM ahead of being appointed to his current one in October 2017.
“The relationship is also evolving and has its challenges,” he continues.
To read more, visit the January edition of Portfolio Adviser Magazine
