Incumbent

Why Finance is becoming Hyperscalable

Why Finance is becoming Hyperscalable

My thesis has long been that technology would have a huge impact in finance, but that it wouldn’t be a linear process. Let’s summarise where we are in this transformation of finance: 2013 onwards: huge enthusiasm in Fintech and the vision that tech would transform finance with disruptors challenging traditional companies. My view at the time:(…)

Who controls technology, controls the future…

Who controls technology, controls the future…

“Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past,” (1984, George Orwell) The article below was published in Info, the monthly magazine of the French Chamber of Great Britain. The November issue was “Disrupt or be Disrupted” and coincided with the Disrupt or be Disrupted Conference held in London.  _________________________________(…)

Alibaba now 3rd largest money market fund in the world

Alibaba now 3rd largest money market fund in the world

Almost 2 years ago, I wrote about the incredible rise of Yue Bao, Alibaba’s money market fund (Can a disruptor grow 10x faster than an incumbent?).  At that time, the numbers were as follows: Whereas it had taken 10/15 years for Vanguard, Fidelity and JP Morgan to reach $100bn under management, it only took 9(…)

The most interesting challenger bank you’ve never heard of

The most interesting challenger bank you’ve never heard of

Most people who have an interest in Fintech have heard of Atom, Starling, Fidor, Mondo or Number 26. Some might have heard of Loot, or Holvi. But there is a fascinating bank that most people have never heard of, and that’s certainly because this French challenger bank doesn’t seem to seek any international visibility. Let’s take a step back(…)

Fintech startups: compete or collaborate with traditional finance?

Fintech startups: compete or collaborate with traditional finance?

Consider these two statements : “The party’s over, for the banks at least” (Transferwise) “Today we are announcing an exciting new partnership with Santander UK, …” (Funding Circle) These statements were made by Transferwise and Funding Circle, two very well known Fintech startups. Both were created a few years ago, both are Unicorns (i.e.valued more than(…)

Artificial Intelligence is coming to finance. Slowly…

Artificial Intelligence is coming to finance. Slowly…

An article I wrote for Financial News about Artificial Intelligence “Meet Cortana, who has the talent to be the best trader in the world… But because her dad is Microsoft and her intelligence is artificial, human traders are not paying attention – but they should…”                  

If you can’t beat them, join them: Goldman Sachs enters Fintech.

If you can’t beat them, join them: Goldman Sachs enters Fintech.

If you liked “Invest in the Disruptors”, you will love “Disrupt the Disruptors”… Goldman Sachs has been a very active investor in Fintech (and Tech in general), with the latest investment in Circle (Bitcoin), but also CompareAsiaGroup (Comparison website for financial services), Oscar (Challenger Insurance) or Kensho (Data analytics for finance) for example. But what(…)

Banks to compete with Google and Amazon! The empire strikes back?

Banks to compete with Google and Amazon! The empire strikes back?

Google and Amazon the next competitors to banks? This is a recurring theme, which has been debated at length (here and here for example) But banks competing with Google or Amazon, that is, shall we say, more daring… But this is exactly what happened last week, when Santander announced that it will offer cloud storage, therefore(…)

Can a Disruptor grow 10x faster than an Incumbent ?

Can a Disruptor grow 10x faster than an Incumbent ?

How quickly can Disruptive Innovation revolutionise existing industries ? For many reasons, I think that finance will be drastically different in 10 years, but what can actually happen over a 10-year period ? Let’s try to be systematic, and since I use a very simple framework to look at startups, let’s use the same approach(…)