Fideuram Direct, defined as the digital bank of Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking, presents itself as an innovative platform that responds to the needs of a modern and digitalized clientele. Born from the integration between Fideuram and IW Bank and developed with subsequent implementations, it offers a vast range of services, including trading platforms, autonomous investments in products, funds and management, together with remote consultancy support, the Direct Advisory. This allows customers to invest and manage their assets wherever they are, with the possibility of receiving personalized assistance without limits on interactions. The key players in this model are the Direct Banker, a team of experts capable of building and managing tailor-made investment portfolios, using cutting-edge solutions for their configuration and calibration.
We asked Luca Bortolan, head of Fideuram Direct, the vision and strategies behind the platform which is gaining appreciation from the Italian financial landscape.
What are the service lines offered by Fideuram Direct for customers who prefer to operate remotely, and how do they differ in terms of offer and functionality?
“Fideuram Direct is the Fideuram platform that offers three lines of service for customers who prefer to work remotely. Frontline provides access to a sophisticated trading platform that can be set up even for less experienced traders. It allows you to act extremely fast, automatically and efficiently on over 50 markets with various tools. The service is provided by industry professionals with over 15 years of experience, who assist customers not only in managing the platforms, but also in the execution of complex orders where the customer needs assistance, perhaps because they are looking for markets or products that are not manageable by the platforms. A second branch concerns the possibility offered to customers to operate on a pool of managed savings products (funds and a management line) independently. It is possible to access a catalog of funds, select those of interest and purchase them, or opt for an already composed management line, built by our Fideuram Asset Management SGR, which has access to all international investment houses and has research teams . We have chosen to give access to 150 funds with sustainability characteristics, classified article 8 and 9. This targeted selection is aimed at simplifying the choice for customers, because we believe it is still complex to be able to disentangle themselves from too many funds for then select the one that best suits your needs. The third branch was announced last July: the Direct Advisory service is a new way of offering financial advice to our clients through structured processes for remote working".
How does the new remote consultancy service work?
“The customer makes an appointment via a dedicated App, makes a video call within a safe environment protected by the bank's app. This approach allows clients to work independently with the support of a consultant who assists them in understanding their needs and building a portfolio managed periodically through these contacts. There is no limit to the number of contacts that can occur between the customer and the Direct Banker".
What is the role of Direct Bankers and how does the Advisory platform use BlackRock technology (Aladdin)?
“The Direct Bankers, currently around ten, work in teams of 3 – 5 professionals, so as to be able to guarantee the availability of a qualified consultant whenever the customer needs it. They are financial consultants registered in the OCF register (Supervision and maintenance body of the single register of Financial Consultants) and therefore can configure the investment portfolio, also thanks to the assistance of Blackrock's Aladdin roboadvisory platform, one of the most sophisticated on the market of Asset Management globally. The platform is powered by our asset management company, Fideuram Asset Management Sgr, with all the know-how of the research, selection and analysis team who perform an in-depth evaluation on a variety of products. Consequently, the platform is not simply based on everything that is available on the market, but rather on a process that takes into account the macroeconomic scenarios and strategies developed by the asset management company, focusing on the products that prove to be most relevant for the market context and the current situation. This approach allows our financial advisors to operate with solid support from the headquarters, thus ensuring harmonization of service standards for customers."
How does Fideuram Direct integrate technology and financial consultancy in managing portfolios? What challenges and opportunities does offering advice in a digital environment bring?
“The human aspect is always present in the Advisory model we propose, represented by the Direct Bankers; the main innovation is the absence of traditional physical meetings, which however does not prevent the creation of an empathetic and trusting relationship with the customer. Let's not forget that we are part of the Private Banking Division of the Intesa Sanpaolo Group, one of the entities with the highest capitalization at a European level, the leading operator in Italy in managed savings and private banking, with decades of history behind us. Technology makes interaction safer and more stable, while working with a consolidated brand allows us to offer a unique guarantee of reliability.
The service, therefore, satisfies investors with financial needs related to investments, but with the possibility of managing more complex situations, such as successions, tax and legal issues, or management of more complex assets, directing customers to financial advisors and private bankers of Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking, professionals capable of guaranteeing access to a wide spectrum of products and services made available by the Private Division".
WealthTech represents a growing trend in the financial sector. How does Fideuram Direct exploit new technologies and innovation to improve asset management and consultancy services? Are there any key technology areas or tools in this transformation?
“Robo advisory platforms can certainly help build a large number of portfolios quickly and accurately. Other features include onboarding, remote client management via an App and the increasingly widespread use of artificial intelligence in Wealth Management. Certainly, more structured solutions will be developed to guide and improve the evolution of commercial proposals to customers, thus allowing a more substantial amount of information to be processed, synthesized and organized more efficiently".
In the context of the growing relevance of ESG in investments, how does Fideuram Direct select and offer sustainable products? And how does this choice integrate into your overall approach to financial advice?
“The strategy of the Private Division is to constantly expand the number of products in its catalog that have sustainability characteristics. Fideuram Direct has made a clear choice in building the management lines, characterizing them to provide exclusively sustainable products. Furthermore, for portfolios built by Direct Bankers, we collect attention towards ESG products through the profiling questionnaire. The more pronounced a customer's ESG preferences are, the greater the response in terms of products will be oriented towards those choices."
Fideuram Direct took inspiration from well-known foreign models such as Merrill Lynch and J.P. Morgan. How does your model adapt to the Italian context and how does it respond to the specificities of the local market?
“We drew inspiration from international models, where a more structured segmentation of customers has already been observed. This was also influenced by the change in customer habits who, especially after the pandemic, showed a growing preference for digital channels. We took inspiration from these models both because we believe that a certain customer segment can benefit from a better service through this type of management, and because we believe that new customer habits are emerging. These are digital customers who are not necessarily young, but who range across different age groups and who prefer the use of digital tools and remote interaction.
We have seen how Merrill Lynch and Jp Morgan have implemented these models, both to invest in total autonomy with roboadvisory platforms and with the assistance of bankers, in pools or dedicated, remotely or in person, for customers with higher assets. In our reality, where we believe it is important to grow financial education, especially with regards to managed savings products, we have adopted a model that uses technology to regulate this relationship remotely and facilitate investment paths and the understanding of needs, but accompanied by the possibility of being guided by an advisor, the Direct Banker, capable of assisting the customer. Therefore, although we were inspired by these international models, we have adapted them, attributing greater importance to the development of this Advisory model compared to more autonomous models".
BlackRock's Aladdin platform was mentioned as an integral part of Fideuram Direct's strategy. How has the platform influenced the construction of portfolios and the offering of services?
“After our Direct Banker has understood the customer's financial profile (Mifid questionnaire) and has acquired an understanding of his needs, his short or medium term needs and his life plans, through the platform we proceed to outline the its asset allocation and select products accordingly. The platform helps speed up and automate this process, periodically keeping the portfolio balanced. It is important to underline that the platform is closely integrated with the strategic and tactical view of our asset management company, which configures, powers and defines the operating parameters of the platform".
Looking to the future of innovation in the financial sector, how do you expect the integration of technology and consultancy to continue to shape the investor experience on Fideuram Direct? What key developments and initiatives do you envision to ensure a service increasingly adapted to the evolving needs of your customers?
“We believe that the evolution of the asset management industry will continue with a constant renewal of products. On Fideuram Direct, this will happen as early as 2024, with the expansion of the offer bouquet to cover the needs of protected or guaranteed capital products, in addition to those already present in the catalogue. The other aspect in which we will continue to invest is reporting, information that we periodically make available to customers. I believe that improving documentation can help enhance the financial education we offer to our customers. This will be possible through the creation of increasingly personalized reporting based on the customer's needs, needs or interests. Furthermore, technological development in the Wealth Management industry will allow for better data analysis, allowing for a more in-depth understanding of the client's needs and requirements in order to offer increasingly tailor-made solutions."
