PIMFA WealthTech, the FinTech platform and digital market network created to drive innovation and enhance collaboration between FinTechs and the Wealth Management sector, in association with Morningstar, have announced the results of their first collaboration.

Morningstar and PIMFA’s tech sprint – ‘the Duty of Care Tech Challenge’ - was designed to challenge FinTechs to develop solutions to help Wealth Management Firms and Advisers navigate the new Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Consumer Duty regulation.

The tech sprint came as a survey of Wealth Management Firms carried out by PIMFA WealthTech found 55% of firms are already working with or considering adopting solutions from external FinTechs, 42% are speeding up their adoption of technology, and 25% are considering outsourcing some of their IT infrastructure to FinTechs.

FinTechs that took part in the tech sprint were asked to create tools to make it easier for Wealth Management firms to better understand their clients. Using Morningstar APIs and data, the FinTechs developed technological solutions to help Wealth Management firms and Advisors navigate Consumer Duty rules around communicating information in a clear, fair and not misleading manner. The FinTechs had access to Morningstar Portfolio Analysis APIs covering asset allocation, geographic breakdowns, sector breakdowns, ESG metrics, risk scores, goal analysis and costs.

Eight FinTechs took part in the tech sprint, which was judged jointly by Morningstar and PIMFA. The four best solutions were presented at the UK Morningstar Investment Conference in London earlier this summer.

Two Fintech participants. InvestSuite and Figg, were crowned joint winners by the Morningstar Investment Conference audience.

Figg aggregates data to provide a collected view of, and intelligence around, a user’s wealth, collecting information across custodian types from pension providers and private and retail banks. Figg’s solution to the challenge was to develop a "privacy-first reporting engine" using Morningstar data. The reporting engine anonymously sends the user’s portfolio to Morningstar X-Ray, then creates a report explaining investment sectors and geo-diversification and providing the user with insights about their short and long-terms returns.

InvestSuite, a company which offers white-label solutions for portfolio construction, investment platforms, and investment insights and reporting, also went down this route for the tech sprint. It set out to reimagine hard-to-read reporting formats with an engagement touch so that investors would be able not just to read, but also understand, the content. To do this, InvestSuite used a storytelling format mixed with AI and natural language processing to break down financial reports.

Runners-up Moneyhub and 2RSquared also presented their solutions at the conference. Moneyhub created a one-stop dashboard view of investments, tracking suitability, affordability, eligibility, and vulnerability with the ability to nudge clients and advisers to course correct if investment styles are mismatched. Meanwhile, 2RSquared’s solution demonstrated improved information flow across a firm to allow front office operations better serve the end customer.

Keith Phillips, Executive Director of PIMFA WealthTech, commented:  

"The role technology can play in helping firms meet the new requirements of the Consumer Duty and serve their clients better has the potential to be enormous.

“We’re delighted to have worked with Morningstar on this important tech sprint along with those leading-edge FinTechs which participated and demonstrated the breadth and depth of innovation now available to support the sector.”

Anastasia Georgiou, Morningstar's director of client solutions, advisor segment, EMEA, commented:  

“We are thrilled to partner with PIMFA. This sprint series was designed to examine how customer-focused technology can be best deployed to support the needs of wealth managers within the requirements of Consumer Duty. These solutions could be pivotal to helping the industry find new, innovative ways of communicating with customers to help them understand financial products and services.

“The tech sprint series is a fantastic initiative bringing new thinking and innovation to current pain points, which will truly benefit the wealth management industry and ultimately the end investor."