Discover all the financial sector news

UHNWIs & Financial Advisory

INVESTIRE | July 2026 The Ultra-High Net Worth Individual (UHNWI) segment—comprising individuals with assets exceeding €30 million (numbering approximately 15,000 in Italy)—requires an approach that goes far beyond traditional investing. To serve this client base, financial advisor networks and major banking groups (through dedicated private

BANKS: THE CHARGE IN FINANCIAL ADVISORS

Bluerating | July 2026 While engaged in an unprecedented wave of consolidation, Italian banks are clear on one thing: the financial advisory and wealth management market is a priority. This is evident from the public exchange offer launched by Intesa Sanpaolo, in which the networks

ACTIVE ETFs AND “CLEAN SHARE CLASS” FUNDS: THE FUTURE OF ASSET MANAGEMENT

Fee Advisor Journal | June 2026 The investment landscape is undergoing a structural transformation. While the debate was long confined to “passive vs. active management,” the convergence of technology, cost reduction, and the pursuit of performance has today created two promising new frontiers: actively managed

INSURANCE COMPANIES: KEY PLAYERS IN THE BANKING SHAKE-UP

Insurance Daily | July 2026 Last summer, the atmosphere was less heated than it is today, yet the opening phase of the banking shake-up centered on an insurance company—Generali—and subsequently its subsidiary, Banca Generali. In fact, it was a move by Generali that triggered Monte

The financial advisor of the future: an architect of life

Bluerating | June 2026 In 2005, only 10% of financial advisors (then known as financial promoter) considered bank support and teamwork to be highly important; 90% essentially operated as independent agents. Twenty years later, the ratio has nearly reversed: 64% of financial advisors now feel

Asset Management Companies (AMCs) and Distributors in Italy: Evolving a Strategic Relationship

Investire | April 2026 The relationship between asset management companies (AMCs) and distributors—primarily traditional banks and financial advisor networks—is the cornerstone of the distribution of investment products. It is a complex, constantly evolving strategic partnership, characterized by mutual dependence and a constant search for a

Financial Advisors and Compensation

Bluerating | April 2026 The role of the financial advisor certified for off-site services is constantly evolving in Italy, shifting from a primarily sales-oriented role to that of a true wealth planner. This transformation has had a direct impact on compensation dynamics and, consequently, on

Unprepared to face the new world – Interview

Borsa & Finanza | April 2026 Are Italians ready for the new era of investing? Italians continue to save more than they invest. The context of growing economic and financial uncertainty is certainly not helping. Unfortunately (for Italians), the very changes underway globally, both geopolitically

A DESTINY IN THE NAME

Advisor | April 2026 Ten years ago, CONSOB replaced the term “financial advisor” with “financial advisor authorized for off-site offerings.” Today, the goal is to make this term exclusive to protect it from misuse by individuals not authorized to practice this profession. Assoreti proposes to

Investing Needs a Trusted Professional

WSI | Aprile 2026 Tomorrow’s wealth Financial advice is the solution to savers’ financial shortsightedness, which, without guidance, risks compromising their long-term well-being. Financial advice in Italy faces a major challenge: responding to citizens’ growing need for trust. This was the clear and powerful message

FROM WEALTH TO INCOME

ADVISOR | March 2026 In Italy, life expectancy has reached record levels, exceeding 84 years, placing the country among the world’s top longevity leaders. The issue of longevity has become a focal point for the country and at the center of banks’ strategies. However, while

ASSET AND WEALTH MANAGEMENT: CONVERGING TRENDS

FAJ | March 2026 Asset management in Italy is experiencing strong growth, with record assets exceeding €2.6 trillion, driven primarily by target-date bond funds, thanks to their pursuit of yield and protection, including in response to BTPs (Italian government bonds), a greater focus on private

BANCASSURANCE: FINANCIAL ADVICE TEACHES

Insurance Review | April 2026 The insurance sector is showing signs not only of growth, but above all of a paradigm shift. To correctly interpret the ongoing changes, it’s necessary to look at market data and the evolution of distribution channels. Let’s start with the

TRUST STARTS IN THE TERRITORY

Bluerating | April 2026 A few years ago, banks competed to open the most branches, shelling out millions of euros to secure a few square meters of street space throughout the country. Today, the race—or rather, the chase—is in the opposite direction, with branches closing

FINANCIAL ADVICE STARTING WITH ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Bluerating | March 2025 The effects of Artificial Intelligence are being felt: the Spanish startup Tuio has caused insurance stocks to plummet on Wall Street and penalized the sector index, while Altruist has hit the shares of asset management groups. A Morgan Stanley analysis raises

MANAGERS: THREE MISSIONS PLUS ONE

Investire | February 2026 Managers in financial advisor networks and banks have essentially three missions. The first is to act as a link between the bank’s top management and those on the front lines. This is not simply a coordination and command role, but a

FINANCIAL ADVISORS DESPERATELY WANTED

Advisor | February 2026 The financial advisory world could accommodate at least another 30,000 financial advisors, but they’re not available. It’s therefore crucial to attract young talent to create a pipeline that can guarantee the profession’s future. The average age of financial advisors is rising

BANKS AT THE CROSSROADS BETWEEN NETWORKS AND CHALLENGER BANKS

Bluerating February 2025 Commercial banks have long been under intense pressure from financial advisor networks. Banks are increasingly serving as a breeding ground for new advisors: for some networks, this pool accounts for over 85% of new hires. Financial advisor networks are gaining market share

BANKS AND CUSTOMERS. ITALIANS AND SPANIARDS ARE THE MOST LOYAL OF ALL

Plus24 | Gennaio 2026 An average of 15 years pass before a bank is changed (16 for Spanish bankers). However, Italy has a peculiarity: when changing banks, we look first and foremost at solidity. Young people, on the other hand, are the most disloyal: 91%

BUSINESS CREDIT: ARE BANKS BETTER THAN FINANCIAL ADVISORY NETWORKS?

Advisor | January 2026 Among the financial advisory’s good intentions for 2026, one could include growth in the business segment, which in Italy comprises over 4 million microenterprises (fewer than 10 employees and a turnover of up to €2 million) and approximately 900,000 small businesses

FINANCIAL ADVISORY: THE THREE CHALLENGES FOR 2026

Bluerating | January 2026 The financial advisory industry closed 2025 with yet another record in assets under management and with clients and advisors increasingly satisfied with the market, three challenges await in 2026. The first challenge is related to digitalization and integration with Artificial Intelligence.

PRIVATE MARKETS, ETFs, CHALLENGER BANK: HOW THE FUTURE OF INVESTMENTS IS CHANGING

Funds People | December 2025 Any analysis of the future of investments must take into account a fundamental segmentation. To understand how the industry will change, it is necessary to distinguish service models based on customer types, divided not only by generation but also by

ETFs RHYME WITH ADVANCED ADVICE

FAJ | December 2025 The global financial landscape is undergoing a significant transformation, driven by two interconnected trends: the growth of ETFs and the parallel spread of advanced advisory models, based on a fee-based approach to financial advisors. Some findings emerge from FINER’s periodic studies

FINANCIAL ADVISORY NETWORKS AND ASSET MANAGEMENT COMPANIES

Advisor | December 2025 The relationship between asset management companies (AMCs) and financial advisory networks is becoming increasingly important. Financial advisors, even top-tier ones with above-average portfolios, want to work with more AMCs than a year ago, recording significant growth for the second year running.

FINANCIAL ADVISOR: A LIGHT IN THE DARK

Investire | November 2025 A beautiful phrase stands out in the office of a prominent American financial advisor: “Don’t panic, call your financial advisor.” Indeed, the support of a good financial advisor is essential for maintaining calm, focusing on the long-term horizon, and strategically rebalancing

CLOSE-RANGED NETWORKS

Bluerating | November 2025 From FINER’s periodic surveys of various professional figures, it has emerged that financial advisor networks are recording figures for the current year that demonstrate the success of their service model for both clients and financial advisors. Among the most significant factors

THE FUTURE DOES NOT WAIT

Insurance Daily | November 2025 This is the title of the fifth edition of the Edufin Observatory created by FINER for Pictet Asset Management. The observatory shows that Italians’ savings are increasing, but emotion remains an obstacle to planning for the future. In this context,

PHILANTHROPY AND BANKS: PERFECT ALLIES

Advisor | November 2025 People are giving more in Italy. The philanthropic trend, monitored by the third edition of the research conducted by FINER Finance Explorer for the Italian Philanthropic Fund, highlights that the propensity for generosity increases with wealth and age. The choice to

CONSULTING IS GETTING INTELLIGENT

Bluerating | October 2025 Artificial Intelligence has been one of the most discussed topics at conferences and debates in recent years. Companies directly or indirectly involved in this new revolution have seen and continue to see exponential growth in stock market values, so much so

SCALABLE CONSULTING

Investire | October 2025 It’s called Scalable, a new development in the financial sector that recently hit the headlines when it became a fully-fledged bank operating in the European Union in September 2025. Scalable is a German fintech company founded in 2014 in Munich by

PERSONAL AND BANKING AFFINITIES BEHIND THE RISIKO

Advisor | October 2025 When UniCredit withdrew its public exchange offer (IPO) for the acquisition of Banco BPM on July 22nd, Giuseppe Castagna, head of Banco BPM, declared with a happiness that could be read on his face that after nine months of stalemate resulting

THE CONSULTANT OF THE FUTURE

FAJ Fee Advisor Journal | September 2025 If we were to imagine what the financial advisor of the future will be like, that is, in five to ten years, it’s easy to hypothesize with reasonable certainty that he or she will be distinguished by at

BANKS AND INSURANCE COMPANIES: PROFESSIONALS AT THE CENTER

Insurance Daily | October 2025 The issue of protection is becoming increasingly central for banks, whose customers increasingly desire a single point of contact for all matters relating to the realization of their projects: protection, savings management, and access to credit. 77% of Italians believe

THREE SERVICE MODELS, ONE WINNER

Investire | July August 2025 Today, the battle for the hearts and savings of Italians involves three service models: financial advisor networks, commercial banks, and challenger banks. It’s worth noting that these three service models have, so to speak, crossed swords only relatively recently. Commercial

Soft Skills: The Advisor’s Game Is Based on Empathy (and Teamwork)

The most sought-after skills in financial advisory are the ability to communicate across four generations and network. This evolution is evidenced by Finer data, which illustrates how the profile of the investment professional has changed. We Wealth | Settembre 2025 Financial advisors have ceased to

A third of Italians don’t know when to invest and for how long

Il Sole24 OrePlus | Settembre 2025 In the Middle Ages, lending at interest was prohibited because it involved profiting from something that didn’t belong to man: time. “Everything beyond capital is usury,” thundered the monk Gratian in 1140. Perhaps this legacy is why Italians of

FINANCIAL ADVISORS FROM FATHER TO SON

Bluerating | Agosto 2025 89% of financial advisors believe their children should be free to choose their own path, although 66% would appreciate having their children by their side to ensure the continuity of their business, a figure that rises to 75% for professionals with

BANKING BIODIVERSITY

Bluerating | Settembre 2025 The conflict between UniCredit and Gruppo BPM, regardless of the outcome of the takeover bid, has highlighted the existence of two different approaches to banking, linked to their size, geographic scope of operations, and mission. Some of these differences were highlighted

TWO BRANDS, TWO CULTURES: BUTTERFLY OR SEAL?

ADVISOR | September 2025 The confrontation between Mediobanca and Monte dei Paschi is a clash of two cultures, two histories, and two very different ways of working and banking, whose trajectories have inevitably intertwined over the years. On the one hand, Monte dei Paschi di

BEHIND THE BANK RISIKO TO CONQUER ASSET MANAGEMENT

Il Sole 24 Ore | August 2025 In your research, you discuss three service models for advisory services (see the article alongside). What’s the crux of the matter? The future will be the result of the combination of digital and professionalism. Years ago, a boom

RISIKO: AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THE BEST FINANCIAL ADVISORS

ADVISOR | July 2025 They understood it even in Frankfurt: the ECB gave its approval to this year’s public exchange offer, placing among its constraints the need to establish adequate retention policies for key professionals at the banks involved in the current risk. Professionals, whether

FEE-BASED ADVICE: INVESTMENT DEMOCRACY

Fee Advisor Journal | June 2025 73% of private bankers and financial advisors managing private and HNWI clients agree that fee-based advice guarantees greater overall profitability than offering commission-based products. This percentage drops to 34% when the same question is posed to bank managers or

TNB: FIVE NEW FEATURES FROM THE NEW BANK

Bluerating | July 2025 There are many new developments in the world of financial advisory, thanks to the various cross-public tender offers in the current banking game, but also the creation of a new bank, TNB, born from a spin-off of Azimut. Azimut has signed

Takeover bids, trends, and products: all the evolutions in financial advisory

Focus Risparmio | July 2025 Finer CEO Nicola Ronchetti discusses the latest trends in financial advisory networks, starting with the potential impact of ongoing deals on the banking sector. The Italian banking game will also change the game for financial professionals and networks, as well

WOMEN THE SILENT MAJORITY

Advisor | June 2025 As part of the intergenerational phenomenon known as the “Great Wealth Transfer,” the largest transfer of wealth in decades, it is expected that $124 trillion will change hands globally by 2048. In most cases, these transfers occur when spouses leave money

BANKS AND NETWORKS: PASSING THE BATON

Investire | June 2025 If until a few decades ago it was unthinkable that over 40% of private clients (with financial assets exceeding a few million euros) would rely on a financial advisor, today it is a reality. There are essentially two reasons for this

EVOLUTION OF FINANCIAL CONSULTING

Bluerating | June 2025 Financial consulting in Italy is constantly evolving, as demonstrated by some trends that have been underway for some time, supported by some evidence. The first evidence is that the consultant’s work is increasingly a team effort, just think that today 66%

FINANCIAL INFLUENCERS IN ITALY

Bluerating | May 2025 In Italy, active financial influencers have grown by 33% in the last three years, providing advice on almost everything, from savings management to pension planning, from trading to cryptocurrencies, using Instagram, YouTube and TikTok and reaching an increasingly wider audience. In

BANKING RISIKO: THE NIGHT MUST PASS

Advisor | May 2025 The current banking risiko will most likely change the reference scenario not only for customers, but also for the professionals of the banks involved, as more structured and different realities could be created than we know them today. It is hoped

ACTIVE CONSULTING PASSIVE MANAGEMENT

Investire | Aprile 2025 Financial consulting based on the model of financial advisor networks represents one of the most successful cases in Italy for three main reasons. The first reason is that the service model of the CF networks puts the person at the center

FINANCIAL CONSULTING THE TWO ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCES

Advisor | April 2025 Artificial Intelligence will revolutionize the way banking and financial consulting are done, there are countless rankings of the professions that will be more or less affected, but all believe that the work of the financial advisor will survive AI. The impact

BANKERS WITH A LICENSE TO GO OUT AND HUNT FOR AFFLUENTS

Bluerating | April 2025 In recent times, most banks and financial advisor networks seem to have concentrated their efforts on private clients, i.e. with financial assets exceeding one million euros. This is certainly an important type of client, growing, but also very demanding and absorbing

THE EVOLUTION OF CONSULTANTS, BETWEEN DIGITAL AND LONGEVITY

Wall Street Italia | April 2025 The financial advisor must evolve, between technology and longevity, following the transformation of the needs of Italian customers. This is one of the key messages that emerged from the research by Nicola Ronchetti, CEO & founder of Finer, on

BETWEEN BANKS AND COMPANIES, IT’S TIME FOR CHANGE

Insurance Connect | April 2025 Looking at data from a recent survey, 37% of Italians have never heard of the possibility of purchasing insurance services from a bank: a considerable percentage considering how many decades bancassurance has been present in Italy as a distribution practice.

LION HUNT

Insurance Daily | March 2025 Once again, the hunt for the Lion of Trieste has begun, but this time the game is big with a game of risk never seen before, triggered by financial and personal reasons. From a financial point of view, Generali is

GIVING VOICE TO FINANCIAL CONSULTING

Advisor | March 2025 Advertising is the soul of commerce, yet the financial and insurance sector invests only 1% of the market in communication, which in Italy is worth around ten billion euros and among the top 20 spenders there is no financial consultancy network.

BANKING RISIKO: THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS

Bluerating | March 2025 The current banking risk seems to be affected, more than those that preceded it in 2020 between Intesa and UBI and in 2007 between Banca Intesa and Sanpaolo IMI and between UniCredit and Capitalia, by a series of sins that seem

RISIKO: THE 4 REASONS TO STAY OR CHANGE BANK

Investire | February 2025 The ongoing risk in the banking sector – triggered by years of fat cows for the banks – is based on obvious financial reasons, lowering of rates, economies of scale and scope, but seems to overshadow the consequences on the choices

IF THE CONSULTANT GOES TO THE BANK

Bluerating | February 2025 Of course, one swallow does not make a summer, but the fact that some financial advisors decide to leave a network to go to a so-called “traditional” bank no longer seems like a limited and isolated phenomenon, therefore it deserves

FINANCIAL ADVICE: A MATTER OF COUPLES

Advisor | February 2025 Italy is a beautiful country; we live longer on average and we are surrounded by wonders: 75% of all the artistic assets existing on the globe are concentrated in our country. As is known, we are also a nation of

THE LEADER MAKES THE WINNING MOVE

Advisor | January 2025 The future of banks and networks seems to increasingly depend on the people who lead them, on their ability to possess empathetic leadership, a clear vision and to be quick and efficient in their actions, possibly anticipating changes. If we look

FINANCIAL ADVISORY NETWORKS THE CHALLENGES OF 2025

Bluerating | January 2025 2024 was an exceptional year for financial consultancy networks: record collections, total assets and numbers of customers served. There appear to be three challenges for 2025 for a sector that is never satisfied with the results achieved but always looks

2025 BACK TO THE FUTURE (OF MANAGED ASSETS)

Investire | January 2025 2025 will be the year of the recovery of managed savings, the lowering of rates and the liquidity in Italians’ current accounts are a powerful detonator for savings management beyond remunerated accounts and BTPs. Ten years ago, the world of financial

FINANCIAL ADVISOR NETWORKS AND BANKING RISIKO

Advisor | December 2024 The revolution underway in the banking world, between local and international risiko, has one primary objective, that of gaining market share in the management of savings of Italians and more generally of European citizens. This explains why the large international banks

THE RETURN OF ASSET MANAGEMENT

Bluerating | December 2024 The progressive fall in interest rates has led all banks to put managed savings back at the center of their industrial plans. The most recent moves in the banking game and in general in the reorganization of the internal product factories

CONSULTANCY NETWORKS: THE DIVERSITY OF MODELS

ADVISOR | November 2024 One of the many reasons for the success of the service model of financial advisor networks in Italy is that there is not a single model but different models. There are networks that belong to banking groups to which they are

BANKS START THE RISIKO ON ASSET MANAGEMENT AND PROTECTION

Investire | November 2024 The banking sector is experiencing a real revolution, triggered by exceptional results in the last two years, to which are added the opportunities offered by the European regulation (Danish Compromise) thanks to which banks can manage and sell insurance policies without

INTELLIGENT ADVICE

Bluerating | November 2024 Having always been accustomed to operating out of office and without being able to count on a branch or a physical presence in the area, financial advisors have always been the first to adopt every new thing and innovation that could

NETWORK RECRUITMENT, THE REASONS THAT HOLD YOU BACK AND THOSE THAT PUSH YOU TO CHANGE

Advisor | September 2024 To ensure further years of success, financial advisor networks need today more than ever to retain their best professionals and at the same time attract new ones. It is therefore essential to understand what are the levers capable of retaining

THE EXODUS IS LACKING FROM BANKER TO CONSULTANT

Bluerating | October 2024 34% of bankers declare themselves willing to consider the possibility of working as a financial consultant with an agency contract and VAT number in the main financial consultancy networks (source FINER 2024 research for ASSORETI). There are 265,000 bank employees in

BEHAVIORAL FINANCE: IF TWO NOBELS SEEM FEW TO YOU

Investire | October 2024 Daniel Kahneman, the late Nobel Prize winner for economics in 2002, was the first psychologist to obtain this recognition as the father of behavioral finance. His work questioned the concept of rationality underlying decision-making processes, overturning the assumptions that had dominated

PROTECTION AND ASSET MANAGEMENT: BANKS CLOSE RANKS

Insurance Daily | October 2024 Two recent M&A operations by UniCredit and BNP Paribas are highlighting what the most attentive market observers had predicted for some time. UniCredit, waiting to conquer Commerzbank, consolidates its position in the life sector with the double acquisition of the

CONSULTANTS: BEHAVIORAL FINANCE IS UNDERUSED

FINER RESEARCH FOR EFPA ITALIA Il Sole 24 Ore PLUS | October 2024 Behavioral finance is for Nobel Prize winners, but not for Italian financial advisors and their clients. The research carried out by Finer for the Efpa Italia annual meeting, held in recent days

FINANCIAL ADVICE WHEN MONEY IS NOT EVERYTHING

Investire | September 2024 The financial consultancy sector grows every year at impressive rates, both in absolute terms and compared to other neighboring sectors which show decidedly more sluggish growth trends. Considering the current market shares conquered by financial advisors – today equal to 20%

THE VALUE OF CERTIFICATION

ADVISOR | September 2024 The success of financial consultancy in Italy is due to the professionals who are the real pivots of this sector. One of the secrets of the success of this profession is the ability to combine the function and support of the

SEMI-ANNUAL REPORTS AND CF SATISFACTION: PARALLEL CONVERGENCIES

Bluerating | September 2024 The networks’ half-yearly reports confirmed a healthy and continuously growing industry with even more positive results (on average +10%) compared to a year ago. Of course, interest rates have given a little help, especially to those network banks most characterized by

FINANCIAL ADVICE AND DIGITAL TRANSITION: HUNT FOR TALENT

Economy | August 2024 The digital transition in the networks of financial advisors has always occurred naturally, without trauma because since their inception these entities have had the only option to ride innovations. In the 80s, financial advisors were the first to adopt portable telephones

SPORT AND FINANCE

Bluerating | August 2024 Sport and athletes have always been a source of inspiration for advertisers who have often chosen them to support a product or brand. Young, strong, beautiful and – possibly – successful, they also represent perfect testimonials for banks and financial advisor

CONSULTING: YOUNG CUSTOMERS GROW

Investire | July 2024 They were born between 1990 and 2000 between generation Y – the so-called millennials (1981-1990) – and generation Z, the last generation to be surveyed including also fourteen-year-olds (1997-2010), they are between 34 and 24 years. They are on average more

FINANCIAL INFLUENCERS

Bluerating | July 2024 The social media population has reached an extraordinary milestone, exceeded 5 billion active users and grew at higher rates than the world population: the digital advertising landscape has recorded an increase of 10% and investments in influencer activities have grown

DESIRE FOR NETWORK

Advisor | July August 2024 The financial consultancy networks continue their climb towards new heights, achieving one success after another and admirably overcoming the obstacles that arise in their path from year to year. To testify that the success of their service model in Italy

FROM SUB-AGENT TO FINANCIAL CONSULTANT

Insurance Daily | July 2024 The world of financial consultancy continues to set one record after another, its success is linked to at least three factors. The first lies in the figure of the financial consultant, a single-firm agent, who despite his working autonomy can

PAID CONSULTANCY THE DICE IS CASTED

Investire | June 2024 It was clear that the time for paid consultancy would sooner or later strike in Italy too and today we can say that its time has finally come. This was confirmed by ASSORETI, the Association of Investment Consultancy Companies which, starting

FINANCIAL CONSULTANTS UNDER 40

Advisor | June 2024 The world of financial consultancy has been growing for years in terms of assets managed, customer satisfaction and its protagonists: financial consultants. Like all successful professions, which require experience, strong commitment and motivation, the profession of financial advisor is today mainly

FINANCIAL CONSULTANT CHAMPIONS OF SAVINGS MANAGEMENT

Bluerating | June 2024 Financial advisors have always been the champions of managed savings, they were the first to propose mutual investment funds when no one in Italy knew about them. The asset management industry owes a lot to financial consultants and the world of

FINANCIAL ADVICE THE FUTURE IS IN THE TEAM

INVESTIRE | May 2024 The figure of the financial advisor has a gift that is superior to many other professions, namely the ability to anticipate changes by riding them and not undergoing them. This ability derives from the very essence of the financial advisor’s work,

FINANCE AND PROTECTION THE MOVES OF THE TWO BANKS

Insurance Daily | May 2024 That the topic of protection must naturally be correlated with that of finance is now known to almost all the major banking and insurance groups, but it was not always like this. Bancassurance services originated in France, in the 1980s,

THE CONSULTING TRIDENT

Advisor | May 2024 Financial consultancy is experiencing a moment of profound change and dynamism as demonstrated by four recent news events. The first is the reorganization of Intesa Sanpaolo’s Wealth Management, established to encourage greater integration between the Group companies: under the direction of

FINANCIAL CONSULTING THE ROLE OF POSTE ITALIANE

Bluerating | May 2024 When we think about financial consultancy in Italy, we believe it is a derby between so-called traditional banks and network banks, which is also played at home as the majority of financial consultant networks are part of banking or insurance groups.

HNWI AND Mutual Funds: END OF THE HONEYMOON?

INVESTIRE | April 2024 From the analyses that FINER periodically conducts, it appears increasingly clear that the honeymoon seems to be over between mutual investment funds and HNWI customers. There are two main reasons, among many: the cost/return ratio and the transition – now more

BREAKTHROUGH CONSULTANCY

Advisor | April 2024 The consensus is (almost) unanimous: the world of consultancy is changing gear for the umpteenth time to anticipate a change that has been in the air for some time and which now has a very specific deadline: the revision of the

FINANCIAL CONSULTANCY: A THIRD OF THE BANKERS ARE THINKING ABOUT CHANGING CAREERS

Il Sole 24 Ore | April 2024 The value, importance on the market and the social role of investment consultancy require banks that manage Italians’ savings to develop robust brands to consolidate the pact of trust with all the country’s stakeholders. The reputation and credibility

WHY ITALIANS CHOOSE CONSULTING NETWORKS FOR THEIR INVESTMENTS

La Repubblica A&F | Aprile 2024 Why do more and more Italians decide to rely on the Networks to invest their savings? 88% today consider the “solidity and reliability” of the system an indispensable condition. This data underlines the importance that savers attach to the

FINANCIAL CONSULTING, WHEN THE BRAND MAKES THE DIFFERENCE

MF Milano Finanza | Aprile 2024 Twenty years ago, if we had asked financial advisors how important the value of the brand of the network bank in which they operate was for their work, we probably would not have obtained such a broad consensus. However,

CONSULTANCY BETWEEN DEMOGRAPHY AND MAIEUTIC

Bluerating | April 2024 Financial consultancy is today called upon to carry out a task of great social responsibility on which the future of our country could also depend. To succeed in this epochal challenge, financial consultancy can make use of some principles that come

FINANCIAL CONSULTANCY: FOR 41% OF UNDER 30S A CAREER CHOICE

Humanities subjects are also among the emerging degree profiles Corriere della Sera Economia | April 2024 Digital services in financial consultancy increasingly attract young people, especially between 25 and 30 years old, so much so that 75% of them now consider them among the main

THE FINANCIAL ADVISOR OF 2034

INVESTIRE | March 2024 What will the financial advisor be like in ten years? Predicting the future is always a bit risky, especially in a sector that is experiencing profound changes, such as that of financial consultancy. Starting from five facts makes this exercise a

THE VALUE OF CONSULTANCY

Wall Street Italy | March 2024 Never before has the fundamental and social value of financial consultancy emerged above all for the growth of our country. In one year, the share of managed savings has increased (today at 59% + 3%) compared to the liquidity

CONSULTANCY ANTIDOTE TO ECONOMIC INEQUALITIES

Advisor | March 2024 77% of Italians do not have a contact person for managing their savings, so much so that they concentrate them on the purchase of properties and liquidity in bank deposits. The absence of a continuous dialogue with an expert for the

FINANCE AND PROTECTION

Insurance Daily | March 2024 The year that has just ended was exceptional for all banks: we witnessed a competition between bankers to see who could triumphantly communicate the achievement of the best profit ever. All the banks – without exception – achieved – as

WEALTH MANAGEMENT THE NEW RENAISSANCE

Investire | February 2024 Wealth management is about to face a new renaissance for at least four reasons. The first is that all over the globe we are inexorably witnessing a concentration of wealth, the wealthier individuals are increasing and the rich are becoming richer.

PRIVATE BANKING AND GENDER EQUALITY

AP Private | February 2024 One hundred and thirty-five are the years that, according to the latest edition of the Global Gender Gap Report drawn up by the World Economic Forum, still separate us from full equality between men and women. In the same report,

THE FUTURE OF MUTUAL INVESTMENT FUNDS

Investire | January 2024 Taking stock of the past year and trying to predict what awaits us for the new year, it is inevitable to talk about managed savings and in particular about mutual investment funds and their future. It is worth remembering that mutual

THE OPTIMISM OF FINANCIAL ADVISORS

Bluerating | Gennaio 2024 The year that has just ended was an unforgettable year for financial advisors with the third best net inflows ever and 153,000 new clients. In fact, the networks continued their journey by continuing to collect the savings of Italians, managed savings

“2004-2024 TWENTY YEARS OF ASSET MANAGEMENT”

Advisor | Gennaio 2024 In 2004, the assets of the Italian asset management industry were 955 billion euros, twenty years later they grew by two and a half times, reaching over 2,300 billion euros. For many, the year that has just ended was the worst

FINANCIAL KNOWLEDGE AND ADVICE

Insurance Daily | Gennaio 2024 The latest CENSIS research with an extremely evocative title – “Blind before omens” – photographs an Italy which, although firmly anchored to the financial wealth of its families – five thousand billion euros – needs a turning point. Again, according

FINANCIAL ADVISORY BECOMES EVER MORE ADVANCED

Advisor | December 2023 Financial advisory expresses its added value when it includes a periodic monitoring of investment portfolios, an ongoing assessment of their adequacy in relation to the clients’ risk profiles, interaction with clients on the basis of the aforementioned profiles, the explanation of

SENSE OF BELONGING AND LOYALTY

Bluerating | December 2023 In any challenging context, a strong sense of belonging is the antidote to fear and to the risk of enduring change instead of riding it. The sense of belonging is fueled by the feeling of being accepted by the community of

PROTECTION AND SOCIAL SECURITY IF NOT NOW WHEN?

Insurance Daily | Dicembre 2023 Alfred Sauvy, late French economist and sociologist, used the metaphor of the clock to explain politics, represented by the second hand, the economy by the minute hand, demography and the environment by the hour hand, obviously the slowest, but equally

PRIVATE BANKING: A MODEL TO BE MADE SCALABLE

AP Private | December 2023 Italian private banking is thriving as testified by data. First of all, the assets connected to private clients and managed by financial networks and banks which specialize in the private customer segment have exceeded one thousand billion euros. Another important

AMCs AND DISTRIBUTION: THE NEW CHALLENGES

Investire | November 2023 The relationship between external AMCs and distribution, notably financial networks and private banks, is undergoing a radical change. The relationship between AMCs and distribution as we know it today is about to be 20 years of age – there have been

CONSULTANCY, FROM PRODUCT TO PORTFOLIO

Investire | November 2023 BTPs through the roof, asset management in decline, rising ETFs: the market has taken a clear direction and the distribution models have been adjusting accordingly. The distribution model based on direct product placement (active funds, certificates, private market investments), which has

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND FINANCIAL CONSULTANCY

Advisor | November 2023 With the launch of ChatGPT, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been back in the limelight. ChatGPT is a bot that produces contents seemingly written by a human and has reached 100 million users in only two months from its launch. What ChatGPT

FINER WINS AT THE PRIVATE BANKING AWARDS 2023

The eighth installment of the Private Banking Awards, an event organised by BFC media and linked to the monthly PRIVATE magazine, took place on 14 November. At the end of a selection process of nominations, the 29 leading players in the market during 2023 were

FINANCIAL CONSULTANCY FOR MANY, BUT NOT FOR ALL

Bluerating | November 2023 Everyone should have a financial advisor who, in addition to managing assets, deals with issues pertaining to protection and credit, both at the household level and – for entrepreneurs – at a corporate level. Finding a professional with expertise is hard.

PROTECTION BETWEEN BTPs AND ALTERNATIVE INVESTMENTS

Insurance Daily | October 2023 Long-term treasury bonds, deposit accounts and bank bonds have been putting a strain on the level of satisfaction of financial advisors with asset management products, in particular with mutual funds. 2022 performance, deemed below expectations and unsatisfactory by financial professionals

BANCASSURANCE

Insurance Review | September 2023 The market of bancassurance is currently undergoing profound changes. In this regard, growth data reveal both strengths and weaknesses of the industry, as well as several opportunities for banks and insurance companies. There are, of course, risks connected to the

CONSULTANTS. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, THE FUTURE IS NOW

Finer research: even the youngest want a real interlocutor Il Sole 24 Ore | October 2023 I don’t fear artificial intelligence, but my competitors who will be able to use it before and better than me.” The expression was used by a financial advisor in

FINANCIAL ADVISORS, ALARM UNDER MANAGEMENT

Advisor | October 2023 In 2023, the level of satisfaction with asset management products/mutual investment funds has been decreasing substantially, as evidenced by the results of the latest edition of FINER® CF Explorer, a yearly survey based on a sample of over 3.000 financial advisors.

AMCs AND DISTRIBUTION, A NEW REVOLUTION

Investire | September 2023 According to PwC’s annual survey on Global Asset and Wealth Management, in four years 16% of AMCs will disappear as a result of the ongoing process of consolidation. In other words, one company out of six. Inflation, market volatility and the

THE GOOD PARLOUR

AP Private | September October 2023 Gaining access to the key places of finance frequented by the elite of entrepreneurship requires more than just money: right revenues and connections as well as an important surname. This is what has been highlighted by a survey conducted

MOTIVATION, BETWEEN MONEY AND RECOGNITION

Bluerating | October 2023 In 2023, the level of satisfaction with the remunerative aspects of financial consultancy has been decreasing, as evidenced by the latest edition of FINER® CF Explorer, a yearly survey based on a sample of over 3.000 financial advisors. The front fee,

YOUNG PEOPLE AND CAREER: TWO PARALLEL CONVERGENCES

Advisor| September 2023 The issue of young people and career has been holding court for years within and beyond the world of financial consultancy. Indeed, financial consultancy, as any other freelance job, has a higher entrepreneurial risk component than employee work. 77% of new graduates

FROM FATHER TO SON

Bluerating | September 2023 Whether their bequest is made of material goods or not, the best legacy a father can leave to his son is the ability to build an independent life nourished by his teachings and exemplary life. Material goods are indeed a necessary

DIY AND FINANCIAL CONSULTANCY

Investire | July August 2023 ETFs, BTP Valore (i.e., long-term treasury bonds), popular investors and online trading – the temptation to DIY, bypassing financial advisors, is currently quite strong. Indeed, the army of savers ready to invest their savings firsthand shows no sign of surrender.

FINANCIAL CONSULTANCY AND THE DIGITAL ASSISTANT

Bluerating | August 2023 Web collaboration, digital signatures and video calls have become an established practice in the field of financial consultancy. The digitalization of the relationships between financial advisors and their clients forms an apparent paradox, first and foremost because discussing money and projects

THE MAD FLIGHT FROM LIFE INSURANCE POLICIES

Insurance Daily | July 2023 The flight from life insurance policies seems relentless. In the life department, the relation between redemption fees and insurance premiums knows no limits: at the end of March, it reached an average of 85%, as compared to 53% in March

THE UNPREDICTABLE FUTURE OF DISTRIBUTION MODELS

Bluerating | July 2023 The relationship between traditional banks and banks based on networks of financial advisors can be viewed either as a home match or as a contrast between two antithetical models. Indeed, banking groups such as Intesa Sanpaolo, Credito Emiliano, BNL BNP

THE PHILANTHROPIC EXPERIENCE OF WEALTHY PEOPLE IN ITALY

AP Private | July August 2023 In Italy, donations amount to €10 billion a year, that is only 0,2% of Italy’s total assets, which currently stands at €5 thousand billion. And yet, Americans, who are only six times as many, donate forty-eight times as much.

VARIABLE MOTIVATION

Advisor | July 2023 The sheer amount of liquid assets on checking accounts and the simultaneous rise in rates recognized by the ECB have been enabling banks to accumulate large margins, as testified by the record-breaking results across the whole system. In addition to the

YOUNG TALENTS GROW WITHIN FINANCIAL NETWORKS

We Wealth | June 2023 The presence of financial advisors under thirty within financial networks is, on average, very low, standing at around 2%. This, however, is an average figure. As such, it overshadows both welcoming organizations in which financial advisors under thirty reach 7%

EUROVITA, HERE COMES THE CAVALRY

In the end, the special commissioner of Eurovita, Alessandro Santoliquido, succeeded in an improbable enterprise, i.e., saving 400.000 clients trapped in the trouble caused by some of the most cunning Anglo-Saxon private equity funds that reached our beautiful country with hungry spirits. In order to

BRAND VALUE AND FINANCIAL CONSULTANCY

Advisor | June 2023 The world of financial consultancy is ever changing. One of the clearest indicators of its constant evolution is the development of the brands of its protagonists. The increased market share of the upper affluent and private segments in financial networks as

HIGH RATES AND MARKET VOLATILITY: THE CHALLENGES FOR ASSET MANAGEMENT

Investire | June 2023 Asset management, long-time bastion of financial advisors, has been facing old and new challenges. This is what came to light at Salone del Risparmio during a discussion hosted by BNP Paribas Asset Management between three key players of the Italian financial

WOMEN AND MEN, A DATE WITH VOLATILITY

Wall Street Italia | June 2023 The daily encounter with volatility and uncertainty brings to light meaningful differences between male and female investors, as evidenced by a survey conducted by FINER for AllianceBernstein on a sample of end investors and financial advisors based in Italy

CHAT GPT AND FINANCIAL CONSULTANCY, FRIENDS OR ENEMIES?

Bluerating | June 2023 In recent times, ChatGPT has been gaining popularity. ChatGPT is a chatbot developed by OpenAI. It simulates and elaborates human conversations, allowing users to interact with digital devices as if they were communicating with a real person. OpenAI is a non-profit

FINANCE AND PROTECTION: WHEN TRUST IS EVERYTHING

Insurance Daily | May 2023 Trust is the cornerstone of any personal relationship, all the more when it comes to protection and asset management. EGEA has recently published “Fiducia Sostantivo Plurale,” an insightful book by Sergio Sorgi and Francesca Bertè. In it, the authors and

PRIVATE BANKING AND ELECTIVE AFFINITIES

AP Private | May 2023 Elective affinities, that is the mutual attraction between two or more people with common interests and tastes, are the core of any personal relationship. Likewise, the relationship between bankers and clients is driven by elective affinities. With one substantial difference:

HOARDERS, HEIRS, OR SPECULATORS

Wall Street Italia | May 2023 Wealth is gained through either speculation, hoarding or inheritance. In the event of inheritance, wealth can be managed in different ways, with or without a sense of responsibility. In this respect, below are the words of the lawyer Gianni

WHEN TWO PEOPLE FIGHT, THE APPLE WINS

Bluerating | May 2023 The Italian market of financial consultancy and the Italian market of asset management are inextricably bound. However, for a long time, they have been based on two different, if complementary, service models: the service model of financial networks and the service

ESG INVESTING, A CHANGE OF PERSPECTIVE

Investire | May 2023 Initially unknown, then compulsively chased and currently regarded with detachment, ESG investing has been subject to the neurotic attention of the market, in particular of Asset Management Companies. All agree that the path has been laid out and that ESG investing

EUROVITA, THE UGLY FACE OF PRIVATE EQUITY

Insurance Daily | April 2023 400.000 clients and dozens of distribution agreements with leading financial networks and banks: this is the outcome of the work of an excellent sales team made of Italian professionals who put their expertise at the service of a very ambitious

THE EVOLUTION OF FINANCIAL CONSULTANCY IN ITALY: THE ROLE OF ETFS

Bluerating | April 2023 From Cinderella to Princess: this is the trajectory of the the ascent of ETFs in Italy. There are many reasons for their success – ETFs are efficient, cost-effective tools which blend well with the most advanced consultancy models. FINER has conducted

PERSONAL AND CORPORATE BRANDING: A HEALTHY COEXISTANCE

Investire | April 2023 The ego of financial advisors most certainly does not resemble the ego of the Little Match Girl described by Hans Christian Andersen. Being a financial advisor takes a high level of awareness of one’s own abilities, together with a healthy dose

THE NURSERY OF FINANCIAL ADVISORS

Advisor | April 2023 One of the most debated issues in recent years and during the last edition of Consulentia 2023 is the inclusion of new financial professionals in the world of financial consultancy. Traditional banks, it is true, represent a veritable nursery of financial

INSURANCE AND FINANCIAL CONSULTANCY

Wall Street Italia | March 2023 Italians love life more than any other inhabitant of planet Earth: Italy holds 75% of the world’s artistic heritage and is the fourth OCSE country for longevity, with an average life expectancy of 85 years. Italians, or better, most

ADVERTISING AND FINANCIAL CONSULTANCY

Wall Street Italia | March 2023 The enormous amount of liquid assets in the checking accounts of Italians is rooted in our farming culture: stacking hay in the barn. However, the ability to save money is joined by a general lack of trust in financial

FINANCIAL ADVISORS: THE EVOLUTION OF THE SPECIES

Investire | March 2023 Over the past twenty years, the figure of the financial advisor has changed radically. At the same time, it has remained true to itself: billows, tidal waves, storms, and whirlpools have not altered its ability to keep the ship steady without

PRIVATE BANKING EVER MORE DRIVEN BY NETWORKS AND INSURANCE

AP Private | March 2023 In 2022, Private Banking reached €950 billion, with +11% of assets under management since 2016 – this confirms that the business model based on financial advisors has been generating a feeling of trust in Italian savers and families (+2% since

HIGH RATES, A TEMPTATION FOR SHORT-SIGHTED BANKERS

Advisor | March 2023 A rate hike is a necessary evil to reduce consumption and stop inflation. However, such maneuvers, controlled by the central bank, have side effects on real economy and retail banking. First of all, more pressure on the cost of money for

THE RELIGIOUS WAR ON INCENTIVES

Bluerating | March 2023 Massimo Doris had the nerve to declare that the battle against incentives is a religious war. He said it publicly and clearly, in typical fashion. After all, the vast majority of the industries of financial consultancy, banking and asset management share

INDUCEMENTS AND INSURANCE: WHAT’S THEIR IMPACT?

Insurance Daily | March 2023 An elegant, yet seemingly harmless Irish woman has thrown into disarray the financial industries of France, Germany, and Italy. Her name is Mairead McGuinness: born in Drogheda in 1959, McGuinness has been serving as European Commissioner for Financial Stability, Financial

THE VALUE OF FINANCIAL CONSULTANCY: 5 PRIORITIES

Wall Street Italia | February 2023 At such a pivotal time for our country, banks, financial networks, the associations representing them, and regulators can do a lot to support Italians, their families and businesses. FINER’s latest surveys brought to light 5 main challenges. PROTECTING THE

ESG, HAS THE BENDER ENDED?

Investire | February 2023 At first, it looked like a dream. The whole financial industry, often and quite unfairly deemed cynical and misleading, seemed to be converting to a good cause: ESGs. Over the past years, everyone tried to regain, so to speak, their virginity

GOALS NOT PRODUCTS: I AM BEGGING YOU

Advisor | February 2023 Let’s imagine a person entering a car dealership: they take a look around waiting to be greeted by the salesperson on duty. In the meantime, the salesman observes them and then welcomes them in his office: he introduces himself and tries

FINANCIAL ADVISORS IN THE TRENCHES

Bluerating | February 2023 It has been twelve months since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine and financial advisors have stood yet another test – they got through geopolitical conflicts and the end of the age of zero rates, while keeping pace with

PLEASURE ASSETS: THE NEW RENAISSANCE

AP Private | February 2023 2022 is a year to be forgotten by the faint of heart who decided to invest without the support of a good financial advisor. However, the wind will soon change in favor of those who managed to keep their nerve.

ESG INVESTMENTS THE GOAL IS PLOTTED THE PATH IS WITH OBSTACLES

Il Sole 24 Ore | February 2023 The new and more stringent regulatory standards imposed by the #sfdr have forced many #assetmanagers to backtrack and “downgrade” 420 funds from article 9 to 8 in less than six months as noted by Morningstar. The latest research

THE EU TOWARDS THE ELIMINATION OF RETROCESSIONS ON FUNDS

La Repubblica | January 2023 The European Commission intends to abolish the remuneration of product houses for those who place financial products. A measure that aims to reduce costs for small investors, but which at the same time risks restricting the audience of those who

PROTECTION: EXPERTISE IS EVERYTHING

Insurance Daily | February 2023 I would like to tell the story of an ordinary entrepreneur who came to understand the real meaning of the word protection and its unbreakable bond with skillful financial professionals. The entrepreneur founded a small, yet highly qualified boutique which

ASSET MANAGEMENT COMPANIES ON THE WAITING LIST

Investire | January 2023 Over the past four years, the relationship between Asset Management Companies (AMCs) and their suppliers, in particular financial networks, private bankers and bank managers, has changed radically. At first, it was love (at times even a little too unconditional): in just

THE VALUE OF COMMUNICATION

Advisor | January 2023 The man who stops advertising to save money is like the man who stops a clock to save time. This quote, attributed to Henry Ford, is very timely even for financial networks and banks. FINER’s annual monitoring on over 6.000 financial

INDUCEMENT: THE DEBATE IS GROWING EVER MORE…

Il Sole 24 Ore | January 2023 In Italy, the success of the financial advisory network model is also (and not only) based on the incentives that remunerate professionals and distribution networks guaranteed by third-party asset managers for the proposition of their investment products. In

GROWTH, INCOME, STABILITY

Il Sole 24 Ore | January 2023 Three goals shared by financial consultants, private bankers and their customers.Between 3 and 4% is the average return expected by CF clients, more cautious (realistic) private clients (2-3%).The risk appetite is confirmed very low with an acceptable loss only if

WHEN THE LEADER TAKES THE FIELD

Bluerating | January 2023 For better or for worse, 2022 has been a memorable year. Needless to say, no asset class survived the craze of the market, which had not been as out of control since the seventies. Inflation, the rise in interest rates and

CREDIT, CONSULTANCY AND PROTECTION: PARALLEL CONVERGENCES

ADVISOR | December 2022 Extending credit to a natural person or to a business is different from offering financial consultancy. In fact, extending credit occurs when an individual/business obtains money from a bank, whereas financial consultancy requires an individual/business to entrust their money to a

BANKS RESIST THE CHARMS OF NON-LIFE INSURANCE

Insurance Daily | December 2022 Holistic financial consulting is a debated topic. Holistic financial consulting offers the chance to assist clients on three fronts: protection, credit, and asset management. Combining credit and asset management is a difficult task: financial professionals whose job consists in granting

FINANCIAL NETWORKS: HEAD OR HEART?

Bluerating | December 2022 Passion, the deep desire to achieve a personal goal, the pleasure to see one’s job recognized and appreciated are two of the ingredients which make the job of financial advisor unique. Its distinctiveness is highlighted in the numbers and figures that

PRIVATE BANKING, REAL ESTATE AND COMPANIES IN FOCUS

AP Private | November December 2022 The everlasting desire of Italian private clients is to maintain the value of their wealth over time, driven by their willingness to take risks, the ability to diversify their investments, together with a remarkable amount of real-estate assets. The

PEOPLE OR AVATARS?

Milano & Finanza | November 2022 When it comes to financial consultancy – as any other vital connection – personal relationships can hardly be replaced by avatars or virtual environments. Human relations play a fundamental role in certifying the skills of people and, in particular,

FINANCIAL EDUCATION: FINANCIAL ADVISORS AND BLOGS IN CONSTRAST

Investire | November 2022 The second edition of the survey on financial education conducted by FINER for Pictet brought to light a widespread desire, common to young people and women, to learn more about finance; moreover, the survey highlighted the key role played by social

FINANCIAL CONSULTANCY: THE FIVE SENSES

Advisor | November 2022 Financial consultancy carries an intrinsic, if only apparent, paradox: the bond between human relationship and innovation in a broad sense. Early financial advisors did not have an office and used to operate off site instead. Therefore, they welcomed all technological advance

HISTORICAL RECURRENCE, WE NEED SAFE GUIDANCE: BANKS AND INSURANCE COMPANIES AT THE CROSSROADS BETWEEN HOLISTIC AND PURE CONSULTING

Insurance Connect | October 2022 According to Giambattista Vico – an Italian philosopher, historian, and law scholar of the Enlightenment – historical recurrence characterizes the path of humankind, moving from the senses, to imagination, to reason; society then inevitably deteriorates and falls back to savagery,

ETF INVESTING AND FINANCIAL CONSULTANCY, TWO INCREASINGLY CONNECTED REALMS

Bluerating | November 2022 At first, they were little known and, later, dreaded. Today, they are very much appreciated or even cherished. We are talking about Exchange Traded Funds or ETFs, listed on Borsa Italiana since 2002 – the first were iShares by the giant

INFLUENCERS AND FINANCE

Asset Class | October 2022 Social networks have a growing weight in guiding and influencing the choices on financial issues of Italians and not only of the very young. The phenomenon of so-called “informal advice” is intrinsically linked to trust, those who seek sources of

FINANCIAL ADVISORS AND EUROPEAN CONTRACT

Il Sole 24 Ore | October 2022 The European MiFID directive that changed the rules of financial markets is again at the launch of regulators. Among the expected changes is the abolition of incentives. “For some time both the European Commission and the European Securities

HERE IS ZURICH, THE SINGLE-VARIETY BANK

Insurance Daily | November 2022 22 years had passed since the last request of an ex-novo banking license in Italy. As of lately, Zurich has broken such record, celebrating the marriage between the financial network ex Finanza & Futuro and Deutsche Bank Financial Advisor. The

ESG INVESTING: WHEN WILL CLIENTS DEMAND IT?

ADVISOR | October 2022 The new Mifid II provisions on clients’ ESG preferences (in effect since last August) require specific questions aimed at assessing the clients’ interest in and awareness of issues pertaining to ESG investing. The periodic polls conducted by FINER reveal substantial differences

FINANCIAL CONSULTANCY: PEOPLE WANTED, NO AVATARS

Investire | October 2022 Many people have been wondering if and how the relationship between financial advisors and their clients will change in consequence to the Metaverse revolution. Since the pandemic, the interest towards the Metaverse has been growing significantly: in fact, the time spent

THE ROLE OF FINANCIAL ADVISORS UNDER DISCUSSION AT THE EU

Bluerating | October 2022 Once again, financial advisors remain the most satisfied with their job compared to bank employees or independent advisors. The difference is not unimportant, as evidenced by the surveys conducted annually by FINER Finance Explorer on over seven thousand financial professionals, including

INFLATION, A STRANGER

Investire | September 2022 Italians have been long ridiculed because very few of them could give a correct definition of inflation. Today, the situation has hardly changed. However, the repercussions of inflation or rather the price increase currently eroding disposable incomes is hitting Italians where

YOUNG PRIVATE CLIENTS GROW

WeWealth | October 2022 75% of the wealth owned by private clients born between 1946 and 1964 (the boomers), in the next 10 years will pass into the hands of millennials. A generation, that of those born between 1981 and 1996, which today maintains a much more

PRIVATE BANKING, APPEARANCE OR SUBSTANCE?

AP Private | September – October Recently, an affluent tourist spent a couple of days in Forte dei Marmi. He had been invited to dine with a group of collectors of modern and contemporary art by a young art dealer. So, he took the opportunity

ITALIANS MORE EDUCATED IN FINANCE

Corriere della Sera | October 2022 This is what emerges from the Edufin 2022 International Observatory created by FINER Finance Explorer for Pictet AM Italia. Interest in finance grows significantly compared to 2021, growth is driven above all by non-investors and students: the changed geopolitical

CONSULTANTS: THE METAVERSE CAN STILL WAIT

Il Sole 24 Ore | October 2022 On Il Sole 24 Ore on newsstands today 8 October an article by Antonio Criscione starting from the research carried out for EFPA Italia by FINER Finance Explorer. Does metaverse as a “non-place” of the future for financial consultancy? A clear answer: not today and not for

ESG INVESTING, THE WINNING VIEWPOINT OF FUND SELECTORS

FundsPeople | September 2022 When it comes to sustainable investing, it is better to seek the assistance of fund selectors. Fund selectors are experts in selecting and can identify ESG tools with a higher degree of precision than financial advisors or private bankers. In a

FINER HOSTS A TALK ON ART AND COLLECTING WITH CHRISTIE’S

ArtsLife | 24 September 2022 On the evening of Thursday, September 15, an unprecedented round table was held in the heart of Milan. A meeting between professionals and amateurs of contemporary art. The occasion was the presentation of the first catalogue of Galleria Indice, a

BANKS AND INSURANCE COMPANIES: AN EVER-CLOSER RELATIONSHIP

Insurance Daily | September 2022 The long-standing, at times incestuous, relationship between banks and insurance companies should hardly surprise the most passionate observers of the financial industry. However, a few variations on the theme have recently emerged: in fact, it would appear that the presence

FINANCIAL NETWORKS: WILL 2022 END WITH A BANG?

Bluerating | September 2022 When it comes to networks of financial advisors, many factual and subjective factors suggest that the second semester of 2022 will end with a bang. Let’s start with some factual elements. During the first semester of 2022 (truly an annus horribilis),

A CHASE FOR ENTREPRENUERS

Advisor | September 2022 In Italy, over 75% among the most affluent people – private clients or HNWIs – owes their fortune to an entrepreneurial activity. 34% of them has an active role in their company, while 17% of them has sold it. The average

PRIVATE BANKING AND THE METAVERSE

AP Private | July – August 2022 The topic of the day is the metaverse, in particular its incorporation in the financial sector. Its market is expected to exceed one trillion dollars over the next 3 years, with big techs’ investments acting as multipliers. There

FINANCIAL ADVISOR: THE JOB OF THE FUTURE

Investire | July August 2022 The OCF annual report is clear: for the very first time in years the trend has changed and the number of professionals registered to the OFC on 31 December 2021 is 0,5% higher than in 2020. This confirms the appeal

LET THE CONVENTIONS BEGIN!

Bluerating | August 2022 It has been long, too long in fact, since financial advisors, private banker and bank managers last met their colleagues and managers in person. Over the past two months, in-person meetings have been resumed: since May and for almost the entire

FEW BROKERS IN LINE

Insurance Daily | July 2022 Italy’s backbone are notably small and medium-sized businesses. Today, they are confronted with the current sky-high prices of raw materials, an incoming recession together with some congenital weaknesses. Among them is the average age of entrepreneurs. Currently, the average age

THE MEGATRENDS OF TOMORROW

Advisor | July 2022 In times of sudden and unpredictable changes, wondering about future megatrends without considering those concerned – i.e. end investors together with their private bankers and financial advisors – would be an incomplete exercise. For this reason, Finer has recently carried out

FINANCIAL CONSULTANCY AND THE METAVERSE

Bluerating | July 2022 Few have understood was the metaverse really is. However, it sounds like novelty, which is a plus. The metaverse was relaunched by Mark Zuckerberg, who, in the meantime, renamed his old creation Meta in an attempt to renew its façade.

ITALIANS AND WELFARE: ANTS OR GRASSHOPPERS?

Investire | June 2022 Italians have always been labelled as ants: they spend their time accumulating money in case of shortages and are unaccustomed to enjoying life like grasshoppers do. In Aesop’s fable, the ant and the grasshopper live very different lives: the former works

WELFARE AND FINANCIAL CONSULTANCY

We Wealth | June 2022 The number of people adhering to supplementary welfare programmes (today 27%) has been increasing more among the clients of financial networks than among the rest of the population. However, the collection data of pension funds and PIPs (individual pension schemes)

INSURANCE AND METAVERSE: A WAKING DREAM

Insurance Daily | June 2022 So much for Mark Zuckerberg and the billionaires of the Silicon Valley raised on bread and Internet: the first person to talk about the metaverse was the American science fiction author Neal Stephenson. In his novel Snow Crash, written in

THE FINANCIAL ADVISOR AS CUPID

Advisor | June 2022 The large amount of liquid assets on Italian checking accounts is a highly debated topic. Moreover, Germany and France are currently experiencing the same issue. Among the causes, the most widely discussed are the poor financial education of Italian savers and

WAR-PROOF FINANCIAL NETWORKS

Bluerating | June 2022 Financial networks have survived, unharmed, the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. Besides, their rampant growth has yet to come to a halt. The first three months of 2022 have registered a positive balance (€13,9 billion), with an increase of 7,2%

RISK OFF RISK ON

Insurance Daily | May 2022 Let’s imagine two buttons, one green and one red. The green button defuses risk, while the red button triggers it. However, we are not dealing with an explosive device, but rather with the huge potential of offering protection tools together

PHILANTHROPY: AN APPEAL TO PRIVATE CLIENTS

AP Private | May June 2022 In the UK and the USA, affluent people compete to see who donates more. And what about Italy? To answer this question, Fondazione Italia Sociale and Finer Finance Explorer have conducted 1.375 interviews to people whose financial wealth stands

IF REAL, ESG INVESTMENTS YIELD MORE, BUT NOT EVERYONE KNOWS

Investire | May 2022 Surely, ESG investing is politically correct. However, just like any other big trend, sustainable investing is likely to lose a bit of shine as its novelty fades away. Let’s start from what, according to many, should be a given: ESG investing

THE REMUNERATION PACKAGE, BETWEEN PERCEPTION AND REALITY

Bluerating | May 2022 Every year FINER monitors the level of satisfaction of financial advisors (FINER® CF Explorer), private bankers (FINER® PB Explorer) and bank managers (FINER® BM Explorer) on over 40 variables. Among them is the level of satisfaction with the remuneration package as

WHEN THE ADVISOR BECOMES AMBASSADOR

Advisor | May 2022 It was Ennio Doris, as usual, the first, the precursor, the visionary, the unforgettable. In 2000, he put himself out there, sitting on a red leather Frau armchair, model 909, also known as Vanity Fair. In the commercial, an orange seems

WALL STREET ITALIA INTERVIEWS NICOLA RONCHETTI

April 2022 What trends characterize the world of financial consultancy today in Italy and abroad? Twenty years ago, Andrea Viganò, then Country Head of BlackRock, told me: Nicola, sooner or later Italy will suffer the same fate as the United States, that is the market

BANCASSURANCE, THE PROTAGONIST OF THE RISIKO

Insurance Review | April 2022 Behind the recent banking risiko (today sadly frozen by the conflict in Ukraine) is a much bigger match: the match of protection. At the risk of sounding repetitive and quite pedantic especially to the readers of Insurance Review, it should

INSURANCE COMPANIES: POWER CONSUMES THOSE WHO DO NOT HAVE ANY

Insurance Daily | April 2022 Albeit with highs and lows, the financial sector and the insurance sector have been inevitably coexisting. However, recent events have underlined a substantial difference between the two sectors: the speed at which events occur and their reaction time. Let’s consider

CONSULTANCY & ASSET MANAGERS, THE SILENT REVOLUTION

Investire | April 2022 The love story between Italian financial networks and asset management companies began a long time ago, evidenced by the mass advent of foreign AMCs in Italy over the past twenty years. Back in 2005, financial advisors were willing to work with

FAMILY-DRIVEN FINANCIAL NETWORKS AND BANKS

Bluerating | April 2022 Family businesses are a distinctive feature of our Country. In most cases, they are small or very small businesses that occupy niche sectors of the market, where the distinctiveness of the funder and of their few followers are at once a

FINANCIAL CONSULTANCY, FROM SOLO TO CONCERT

Advisor | April 2022 “Preparati a una nuova musica” is the title of Consulentia 2022: financial consultancy is changing the tune, transitioning gradually from solo to concert. There are three main elements which have marked its evolution. The relationship with the bank/financial network The

BEYOND COUNTRY AND OWNERSHIP: ART IS A BOUNDLESS LANGUAGE

WeWealth | April 2022 Had we not been in the midst of a conflict, the request made by the Russian Minister of Culture to his Italian counterpart to quickly repatriate the artworks lent to ongoing exhibitions between Milan and Rome would have sounded quite humorous.

PRIVATE BANKING: WHEN THE LEADER IS OPERATIONAL

AP Private | March-April 2022 The Italian market of private banking is in great turmoil. Leading private banks are currently competing to win the best bankers, as testified by the many changes occurring over the past months. Some international businesses have decided to bet on

ART AND FINANCE, A MILLENARY CONNECTION

Interview on ArtsLife | March 2022 The connection between art and the market is paramount for analyzing and understanding the intricate system of contemporary art. The market includes of course the auction market and the small number of big names who share the largest piece

INVESTING IN FINANCIAL NETWORKS

Investire | March 2022 The Russia-Ukraine conflict generated a stock market crash. A few days after the invasion of Ukraine, I took a look at deep-discount bonds and told myself, now is the time to invest. The essentials of Italian banks, financial networks and fintech

WHO CAME FIRST, MEN (AND WOMEN) OR THE DIGITAL WORLD?

Insurance Daily | March 2022 On 17 March, Intesa Sanpaolo has introduced two top managers, a woman and a man, both 41-year-old engineers. The woman is Claudia Vassena, former head of Buddybank, a model of “conversational banking” of UniCredit. She is going to work

ITALIAN COMPANIES, AN UNEASY GENERATIONAL SHIFT

Be Private | March 2022 Small and medium-sized businesses have a key role in the Italian economic fabric. They represent about 92% of active businesses and hire 80% of the workforce. Over the next 20 years, in our Country, business management is going to face

SPORT AND CONSULTANCY: A POWER COUPLE

Bluerating | March 2022 A strong bond connects competition and finance. In fact, the number of financial professionals practicing sports consistently is twice (34%) that recorded in other sectors (17%). Sport, when practiced with consistency and method, keeps body and mind in shape. This is

GENDER GAP: ARE BANKS BETTER THAN FINANCIAL NETWORKS?

Advisor | March 2022 Overcoming gender inequality has a social, economic, and financial value: companies with an equal number of men and women both overall and in top positions generate more profits. What is the current situation of financial networks, private and universal banks in

FINANCE AND PROTECTION

Insurance Daily | February 2022 Banks and insurance companies have closed 2021 with record-breaking financial statements. However, there is still much work ahead. Excluding profit, which can often be the result of rationalizations and improvements, the growth potential remains huge: on the one hand, a

THE ANCIENT, OUR CONTEMPORARY

We Wealth | February 2022 The ancient and the contemporary do not always maintain easy relationships: filiation, lineage, legacy, and hierarchies generate struggles between the artists of today and the artists of the past. And the sudden changes in taste, dictated by thousands of reasons

FINANCIAL NETWORKS: FOOLISH AND HUNGRY INNOVATORS WANTED

Bluerating | February 2022 Lately, networks of financial advisors have been walking a path paved with records. In the public imagination, they have transformed from Cinderella to the Princess of the banking sector and investments in a broad sense. Networks of financial advisors landed in

A CHANGE OF GEAR FOR ADVANCED CONSULTANCY

Advisor | February 2022 A record-filled 2021 has passed, and the industry of financial consultancy is wondering what challenges lay ahead. There are two central issues with different degrees of intensity. The first issue is the passage from financial consultancy to financial planning. This includes

PRIVATE BANKING, THE VALUE OF TRAINING

AP Advisor Private | January 2022 In the collective imagination, private bankers have come to represent an élite of sorts within banks and, lately, within networks of financial advisors. Working with high-net-worth individuals, being part of the same milieux and often sharing interests (e.g., golf,

FINANCIAL ADVISORS WANTED

Bluerating | January 2022 2021 was a record year for networks of financial advisors. Currently, financial networks are taking on the new challenges of 2022, a year that still appears illegible. The industry of financial consultancy is growing stronger. The market is in the hands

FINANCIAL CONSULTANCY: WHAT TO EXPECT FROM 2022?

Investire | January 2022 2021 ended with a bang for the field of financial consultancy and asset management, with figures that speak for themselves: €760 billion in assets out of a total of €2.560 billion in assets under management. Overall, this is a field in

A 2021 TO REMEMBER AND THE 2022 CHALLENGES FOR THE INDUSTRY OF FINANCIAL COSULTANCY

Funds People | January 2022 2021 has been a record year for the world of financial consultancy – €760 billion in assets out of a total of €2.560 billion in assets under management. Overall, this is a field in which financial advisors have always come

TEAMWORK, IN OTHER WORDS SENSE OF BELONGING

Advisor | January 2022 Sometimes one wonders what distinguishes a winning team. The answer lies in the combination of people, women and men who play the same match. In a winning team, each person plays a well-defined role, some on the field, some on the

THIS IS NOT A COUNTRY FOR PHILANTHROPISTS (BUT IT WILL BE)

Gentleman | December 2021 Changing the culture of donation, creating new tools for charity, betting on millennials: these are the goals of Fondazione Italia Sociale, which brings together some of the most important Italian companies By Emanuele Elli In Italy, people donate little and poorly

WEALTH & PROTECTION: A REOCCURRING CHALLENGE

Advisor | December 2021 The upcoming acquisition of Deutsche Bank’s financial network by the insurance giant Zurich – currently looking forward to getting the banking license from Banca d’Italia – is certainly not going to be the only news in such a buzzing sector. In

FROM EMPLOYEE TO ADVISOR? IT TAKES COURAGE

Bluerating | December 2021 Every year FINER conducts ongoing monitoring on over 7.000 financial professionals: financial advisors, private bankers, and bank managers. Their service models show some meaningful differences. Firstly, the contract which binds financial professionals to the bank: the difference between being an advisor

PRIVATE BANKING, EVERYTHING CHANGES

AP Private | November December 2021 The great success obtained recently by private banking is there for all to see. And it is quite amazing to witness how quickly the field has changed over the last 10 years. Indeed, private banking, for a very long

ITALIANS AND BONDS: IS IT STILL LOVE?

Investire | November 2021 Italians have a real love for liquid assets, so much that by 2022 Italy is predicted to have 2.000 billion euros in liquid assets on its checking accounts. Only 25% of our compatriots are confident enough to invest their money, careless

FINANCIAL CONSULTANCY AND INSURANCE, A MARRIAGE OF CONVENIENCE

Bluerating | November 2021 Only 25% of Italians invest and only 10% have adequate insurance coverage. On the other hand, by 2022 Italy is going to have 2.000 billion euros on current accounts. Many financial professionals mock Italians for their inadequate financial education (which is

INSURANCE POLICIES: THE CHARGE OF FINANCIAL ADVISORS

Insurance Daily | November 2021 The annual monitoring conducted by FINER on more than 7.000 financial advisors, private bankers, bank managers, insurance agents and subagents has brought to light some unexpected data. The level of satisfaction with insurance products in field of life and

FINANCIAL CONSULTANCY AND OPEN ARCHITECTURE: THE END OF A LOVE STORY?

ADVISOR | November 2021 The love story between financial advisors and open architecture began over fifteen years ago, celebrated in Italy with the arrival of dozens of foreign AMCs. Financial advisors could choose among a growing number of American, English, and French asset managers, in

ESG INVESTING: THE AWAKENING OF SUSTAINABILITY

Investire | October 2021 The level of awareness of ESG themes has been growing dramatically since 2018, among both financial professionals (+45%) and their clients (+ 66%), especially among clients with a larger asset size (from 15% to 42%). The reasons lie not only with

THE MANAGER OF THE FUTURE: HUMAN OR ROBOT?

Investire | September 2021 Lately, Italy has become more digital than we could have ever anticipated. Consequently, many words are being spent on robo-advisors and the future of digital platforms which offer advice on investment management with little to no human supervision. A few years

BANKS AND FINANCIAL NETWORKS: PARALLEL CONVERGENCES

ADVISOR | October 2021 Competition is exciting and well-loved amongst those who have had to pass through fire and not be burnt, such as financial advisors: ridiculed at first, they are now praised as a successful service model. Somewhere between a free agent and a

FINANCIAL ADVISORS AND SOCIAL NETWORKS

Bluerating | October 2021 Chiara Ferragni, one of the best-known Italian influencers with millions of followers, has recently signed a long-term agreement with Safilo for the production and distribution of her first glasses collection. She has also recently joined Tod’s board of directors, causing the

WEALTH MANAGEMENT AND REAL ESTATE

We Wealth | September 2021 There is an old bond between Italians and real estate. 92,7% of residential units in Italy belong to private citizens and 80% of Italians live in a house they own. When we focus on the HNWI segment, that is those

UNIT LINKED POLICIES: EXPERT MIXOLOGISTS WANTED

Bluerating | September 2021 Unit Linked Insurance Plans (ULIPs) are insurance policies linked to investment fund shares. They combine insurance and investment benefits under a single integrated plan. In theory, ULIPs could be a miracle cure for our Country, its two main issues being underinsurance

INNOVATION AND SUSTAINABILITY: TWO SIDES OF THE SAME COIN

AP Private | September 2021 The members of the most affluent population segment, the so called HNWIs, share a high level of awareness towards ESG issues, twice as high as their less affluent compatriots. In fact, having had their most basic needs met, HNWIs become

HOW TO TURN ITALIAN SAVERS INTO INVESTORS

Advisor | September 2021 Turning lead into gold was one of most sought goal of alchemists. This transmutation shall be achieved through a mythical substance, the philosopher’s stone. The two metals, lead and gold, differ in the number of protons in their nuclei. In order

WHEN FINTECH RHYMES WITH NETWORK

Bluerating | August 2021 Fintech, or “Financial Technology”, consists in the innovation of the banking and financial system through the integration of technology. Fintech includes a wide range of technological solutions applied to finance: banking and insurance services, peer-to-peer lending, robo-advisors. The word Fintech evokes

ITALIAN COMPANIES AND THE STOCK MARKET: DO THEY FEAR IT OR FOOL IT?

Investire | July 2021 Only 25% of Italians invest their savings in financial markets. In fact, Italian investors are the most reluctant in Europe to get listed on the Stock Market. The Stock Market has two main limits: on the one hand, several successful family

PRIVATE BANKING: REPUTATION IS ONLINE

AP Private | July August 2021 In 2003, I met the Italian manager of a small if renowned Swiss private bank. During the meeting, I argued in favor of the importance of the public image of a bank and of communication. “We would much rather

BANKS AND FINANCIAL NETWORKS: WHAT TITLES SHOULD THEY BET ON?

Focus Risparmio | July 2021 Many people wonder what titles the market and, in particular, banks and financial networks will bet on. Before making any speculation, it is necessary to focus on some certainties. First: any form of investment should be increasingly in line with

BUSINESSES AND ASSET MANAGERS FOR THE RECOVERY OF THE COUNTRY

Insurance Daily | July 2021 Italians are a people of poets, artists, heroes, saints, thinkers, scientists, sailors, transmigrants etc. Italians are everything but investors. Only one Italian out of four invests his/her savings in the financial markets. Moreover, Italian entrepreneurs are among the most reluctant

THEMATIC FUNDS AND FINANCIAL CONSULTANCY: LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT

ADVISOR | July 2021 In Italy, investors are only 25%. The remaining 75% prefers keeping money on bank accounts in case of need. There are two main reasons: poor financial knowledge and low level of trust towards the industry of asset management and financial consultancy.

FINANCIAL CONSULTANCY: THE VICTORY OF THE TEAM

Bluerating | July 2021 The financial advisor is a highly successful professional figure. Indeed, the level of satisfaction of the clients of financial advisors is, on average, higher than the level of satisfaction of clients assisted by other professional figures. Every year the industry of

STOCK MARKET OR LIFE?

Investire | June 2021 The savings of the Italian people are – together with Italy’s unmatchable artistic heritage – among the most valuable resources of our Country. Yet, our savings share with our artistic heritage a sad record: their insufficient enhancement. The amount of liquidity

WHEN PRIVATE IS MILLENNIAL

We Wealth | June 2021 They were born between 1980 and 1990 in rich families or from an enterprising and successful parent. They share a patrimony of a few dozen million euros, which, in part, is already theirs. In Italy, few of them are self-made,

RECOVERY PLAN AND FINANCIAL CONSULTANCY

Advisor | June 2021 We know it as Recovery Fund or Plan, but its real name is Next Generation EU. The objectives are promoting the digital transformation of the Country, supporting the innovation of the production system and investing in two Italian key sectors, tourism

PRIVATE BANKING: BEWARE MILLENNIAL CLIENTS

AP Private | May-June 2021 After having assisted a client for years, any private baker who is suddenly dismissed by his client’s descendants must feel great frustration. It is one of the first rules of financial consultancy: when a patrimony is very articulated and complex

GENERATIONAL HANDOVER: THE NEW CHALLENGE OF FINANCIAL CONSULTANCY

Bluerating | June 2021 The average age of financial advisors who assist the wealthiest client segment is 58, while their clients’ average age is 68. Over 40% of them are business owners or shareholders. Over the next 20 years, at least 800 billion euros

COMPANIES, LITTLE-KNOWN INVESTMENTS

Daily Media | June 2021 492 billion euros: it is the amount of liquidity on the bank accounts of Italian companies in February 2021 (source: Banca d’Italia). It is an impressive figure, even more so if we consider that the increase in the amount of

IN THE STORM. A TURBULENT SEA OF UNCERTAINTIES, NEW HORIZONS AND SECURITY NEEDS

May 2021 It can be a change of government or Janet Yellen’s personal initiatives, the shimmering mood of the ruling class in China, the whims of AstraZeneca, the off-and-on reopening of schools, the amount of work which increases for some and decreases for others, the

CRYPTO UNRULY YET ATTRACTIVE

Investire | May 2021 They are objects of obscure desire, unregulated and appreciated especially by those who see banks and financial markets as a bitter enemy. It is a copious army: millions of young millennials, digital natives, among them some of the most brilliant start

THE IMPORTANCE OF REMUNERATION

Bluerating | May 2021 Remuneration is crucial for two reasons. The first and most common reason is that money is necessary to live and satisfy needs, which tend to evolve throughout life. In 1954, the psychologist Abraham Maslow introduced a motivational theory comprising a five-tier

WHEN MERGER EQUALS SATISFACTION

Advisor | May 2021 The merger by incorporation of UBI into Intesa Sanpaolo marks the beginning of a new, long-awaited season, the age of bank mergers. For a potential predator to turn suddenly into a prey is not ideal. Moreover, bankers prefer anticipating events rather

ENTREPRENEURS, AGENTS AND BROKERS UNITED BY THE SAME FATE

Insurance Daily | April 2021 Any entrepreneur has the privilege of being the object of attention of the insurance broker, among the most proactive professional categories of the world of insurance. Of course, this does not mean that the broker, like the insurance agent, is

THE LATEST FRONTIER OF FINANCIAL CONSULTANCY: THE MULTI-FAMILY OFFICE

Investire | April 2021 The scope of private banking and wealth management is ever expanding. Today the word multi-family office has entered the vocabulary of financial advisors. Driven by networks of financial advisors and private bankers, wealth management and private banking services have become accessible

ETF INVESTING, A CINDERELLA TURNED INTO A PRINCESS

We Wealth | April 2021 Vanguard has recently opened its doors in Milan. It was, to be fair, an act of mere formality. The city had already been seduced by the American giant of ETF investing with its ambassador Simone Rosti. A lifetime has gone

ESG: IS IT TIME FOR REDDE RATIONEM?

Bluerating | April 2021 Its name is quite cryptic and rich in consonants: we are talking about the SFDR, the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation. The SFDR is a European regulation which includes ESG disclosure-related requirements for financial market participants and financial advisors. And, on 10th March,

PRIVATE BANKING: ALL IN ONE OR ONLY ONE?

AP Advisor Private | March-April 2021 The industry of Private Banking is currently experiencing a time of great change. It all started with the rates reduction and the subsequent increase of the asset management component in the portfolios of private clients, which led them in

AMCs, FULL DIGITAL JACKET

Advisor | April 2021 2020 was a year of great success for the industry of asset management, as evidenced by the figures provided by ASSOGESTIONI. 2021 has started with a bang: the amount of assets collected since the beginning of the year has increased reaching

FINANCIAL CONSULTANCY IN 2021

Bluerating | March 2021 2020 was marked by exceptional results despite the difficult economic and social context, one of harshest since the postwar period. Many people wonder what kind of year 2021 will be for the world of financial consultancy. Much depends on vaccination plans,

NATURE AND FREEDOM: ARTISTS AMONG THE ELEMENTS

We Wealth | March 2021 After many months in lockdown, the imagination wanders towards open spaces, where the art of people dialogues with the living forces and forms of nature. Their meeting, frequently celebrated by ancient peoples, has known moments of prosperity. The term “third nature”

ENTREPRENEURS GENERATIONAL RENEWAL ISSUE STILL HARD TO COME

Insurance Daily | March 2021 In Italy, over 800 billion euros in real-estate and business assets will undergo a generational renewal in the coming twenty years. Only 17% of Italians have addressed and solved the issue of generational renewal, compared with a European average of

PRIVATE EQUITY AND PRIVATE MARKET: MAKING OR BUYING?

Investire | March 2021 In spite of this time of zero rates, networks of financial advisors have recently closed their best year of all time with a positive balance worth 43,4 billion euros (+24,1% compared to 2019, source: ASSORETI). In 2020, the industry of asset management,

PRIVATE BANKING? NO LONGER AN ELITE SERVICE

AP Advisor Private | January 2021 We are currently witnessing a process of democratization of private banking. Although this might sound like a contradiction in terms, today the services once intended for a selected few are accessible to everybody. In fact, the digitalization of the

THE SUSTAINABLE FINANCIAL ADVISOR

Advisor | March 2021 Many words are spent on sustainability and ESG investments. Hopefully, we will soon move from words to deeds. Our daily lives, every action made by businesses and families every year need to be sustainable and the strategies followed by the leaders

ITALIAN ENTREPRENEURS ON A QUEST FOR THE PIVOT

Insurance Daily | February 2021 In Italy, there are over 4.5 million companies that hire over 17 million people; they are, for the most part, micro businesses. Small and medium-sized businesses (or PMIs) hire over 4 million people – their turnover is worth about one

ALTERNATIVE PIR FUNDS: THE CAVALRY IS COMING

Investire | February 2021 Not unlike cavalry, alternative PIR funds (or Individual Savings Schemes) have come to the rescue of ordinary PIR funds. In fact, a series of stop-and-gos has made the launch of ordinary PIR funds quite difficult. The PIR funds saga began in

FINANCIAL CONSULTANCY: THE W VALUE

We Wealth | March 2021 Elena Goitini’s recent appointment as CEO of BNL BNP Paribas has made us all proud: an Italian woman leading one of the largest Italian banks, part of a French group. Luckily, it is not a one-time instance: in Italy, other

GAMESTOP: SARDINES AGAINST SHARKS?

Nicola Porro | Economia e Finanza by Leopoldo Gasbarro |February 2021 With the GameStop affair, the world witnessed the assault on the financial sector by social media: hundreds of thousands of Sardines – members of an Italian political movement known as Sardines movement – joined

1991-2021, 30 YEARS OF RESOLVE

Advisor | February 2021 The first Single Register of Financial Promoters (as financial advisors were called back then) saw the light in 1991. Desired by ANASF, the Single Register represented an exceptional result and the starting point of a long journey that marked the evolution

FINANCIAL NETWORKS: BRILLIANT 30-YEAR-OLDS WANTED

Bluerating | February 2021 The work placement of 30-year-olds is a long-standing issue that concerns almost all professions – notaries, doctors, university professors, artisans, and so on. The world of financial consultancy is no exception – in fact, jobs in the financial field require skills

Banks, between mergers and Bancassurance arrangements

Insurance Review | February 2021 Companies share an old Hamletic doubt: making or buying? This question reflects the alternative each company has between producing (making) or acquiring (buying) goods and services necessary for their activity. The choice has strategic importance because it leads to a

The success of financial consultancy

Advisor | January 2021 Over the last decade (2008-2019), the Italian world of financial consultancy has experienced a major development: the overall financial activity has grown from 8% to 14% and the assets under management have grown from 20% to 25%. Today, there are over

Banks and renaissance

Insurance Daily | January 2021 Banks are currently witnessing the biggest revolution since the postwar period. The entire banking system is undergoing a process of redefinition. The process of aggregation of banking groups will culminate in 2021, lasting at least until 2025. In this context,

Out with the old, in with the new?

Bluerating | January 2021 An unforgettable year is now behind us. Financial advisors have learnt a lot: first and foremost, that the future depends largely on each single financial professional, on his/her ability to welcome change and to sail towards a specific destination. A lot

Looking for ingredients to satisfy the customer

Private Banking’s quest to warrant efficiency AP Private November | December 2020 The Private client segment and its extreme points – HNWIs and UHNWIs – represent a true test bench for any bank, financial advisor or private banker. In fact, because of the size of

Natural selection

The return of the Robo-Advisor Advisor | December 2020 Every day influential people working in the private banking, asset management and financial consultancy industry remind us about the rise in the total amount of liquidity held by the Italian banking system (which, for the record,

ESG investing and the commodity risk

Investire | December 2020 Three years ago, very few people talked about ESG. What used to sound as an enigmatic acronym, today has become the holy mantra of the asset management and financial consultancy industry, the quickest to recognize a phenomenon of growing importance. Four

Financial consultants & customers

Il Sole24 Ore | 17 December 2020 by Lucilla Incorvati Because wealth and culture (for now) push more towards ESG investments? According to the latest Finer survey which mapped the 4.5 million clients of financial advisors, it is above all the most educated and richest

Virus-proof networks

Bluerating | December 2020 The Covid-19 pandemic has put a strain on our country and on the whole world. Very few industries survived the first wave of the pandemic; even fewer will outlive the second wave. Networks of financial advisors emerged from the Covid-19 storm

The handover remains a taboo

Plus24 Il Sole24 Ore | 12 December 2020 In Italy the issue of generational change is still a taboo only 17% have solved it. On average, women, the over 75, those who live in the north, the most educated and the wealthiest are more sensitive.

Gender differences in the world of asset management

Investire | November 2020 Every year FINER conducts three monitoring surveys on three categories of financial professionals: 3.300 Financial Advisors (CF Explorer), 1.700 Private Bankers (PB Explorer) and 2.000 Bank Managers who deal with affluent clients (BM Explorers). Here is the percentage of women in

Insurance agents and financial advisors united by the same fate

Insurance Connect | November 2020 Banks and networks of financial advisors are not content with just their supremacy over the industry of life insurance. Recently, Italian banks and networks have invaded the field of liability and accident insurance. There are two main reasons. The most

Danger of defocalization

Advisor | November 2020 Since the very beginning, the world of financial consultancy has been the early hotbed of a successful service model that, in time, has become exemplary for financial institutions. Moreover, one of the main strengths of the world of financial consultancy is

I’m changing network… but what if i regret it?

Bluerating | November 2020 Since the very beginning, the world of financial consultancy has been the early hotbed of a successful service model that, in time, has become exemplary for financial institutions. Moreover, one of the main strengths of the world of financial consultancy is

2000-2020: the 20 years that changed the world of financial consultancy

Investire Today | 31 October 2020 The evolution of the financial advisor in 4 steps: 1. From “Promotori” to “Consulenti”, from financial promoters to financial advisors The change of name to Consulente, or Advisor, does not merely reflect a formal transition – in 2016, the

ETFs and financial consultancy: a new-found chemistry

Investire | October 2020 In Italy, ETFs were met with suspicion. Active managers considered them second-class products – in their opinion, ETFs could not make use of the many opportunities offered by the market (for example, going contrarian); on the contrary, they could merely take

There’s private banking and private banking

AP Private | October – November 2020 What are the eligibility requirements for Private Banking? What’s the minimum balance required to be classified as Private Client? The answer is not quite as simple: it depends on the bank and on the type of client. In

The financial advisor as an anchorman

Advisor | October 2020 Going back to work after our first post-pandemic summer made it clear that nothing will be as before. Today, the headquarters of banks and insurance companies, which used to host thousands of workers, look like cathedrals in the desert; only small

The value of awards and certificates to financial professionals and companies

Bluerating | October 2020 What is the value of a certificate attesting to a set of skills acquired during a training course, a certification or an award won as best financial advisor of one or several networks? The answer depends on the reliability of the

Behavioural finance and the insurance industry

Insurance Connect | October 2020 Italians are frequently mocked for their poor financial education. Admittedly, the data are unforgiving: 795 billion euros are currently deposited in non-interest-bearing accounts, less than one Italian out of ten has home insurance, and we could add hundreds of other

Investing in Italy

Investire | September 2020 At the time of the lockdown, thousands of tricolor flags appeared on the balconies and roofs of Italian homes. Indeed, Italians are a notoriously resilient people and, in times of trouble, they join forces. Videos of the aerobatic demonstration team of

New vulnerabilities and protection needs

We Wealth | September 2020 When it comes to raising awareness on the importance of self-protection, preservation and future thinking, the pandemic and the 100 days in lockdown have done more than decades of communication and marketing activity ever did. Let’s consider some data:

Independent financial advisors, the dark horses of the financial industry

Bluerating | September 2020 In the UK and USA, the independent financial advisor is a well-established professional figure. On the other hand, the job is still quite uncommon in Italy, where only 240 out of the over 55.000 financial advisors registered to the OFC (Single

Advisors and accountants: much ado about nothing?

Advisor | September 2020 A document published on 18 June 2020 by Fondazione Nazionale dei Commercialisti was met by renewed fears of encroachment. The document’s declared aim is to identify new areas of work and to widen the range of skills available to accountants in

Financial Advisors:

bigger is better. Bluerating | August 2020 Currently, networks of financial advisors are living an extraordinary time thanks to three strong points inherent to their service model: 1) the proactive attitude adopted by financial professionals; 2) digitalization; 3) a strong ability to operate offsite. The

The fragile and reckless lives of art

WeWealth | July 2020 Recent antiracism protests in the United States, Great Britain and elsewhere saw the toppling of statues representing figures that may offend political, ethnic or religious sensibilities. Statues of Christopher Columbus – guilty, according to some interpretations, of having paved the way

Private clients like real economy

AP Advisor Private | July 2020 34% of them are active entrepreneurs; 22% owe their fortune to the family business, of which they own a share; 16% have sold their business, while the remaining 28% have made a fortune out of their career. On balance,

For a good economy

There is a kind of finance which goes short on listed companies and that is commonly described as speculative; its motto is mors tua vita mea. There is, however, another kind of finance which invests in companies adopting a medium-long term sustainable strategy.

The centrality of the network manager

Being a network manager is not easy, all the more so after three months in lockdown. A pivotal figure in the financial field, the network manager has yet again proven to be capable of excellent work.

The new playing field

Advisor | July 2020 What is the impact of Covid–19 on the field of financial consultancy? What legacy will it leave? What are the challenges for the financial field and how are we to face them? What will remain of the Covid-19 emergency? We, as Italian people, love life – resilience, survivability and creativity are our biggest strengths. Lately, many industries have given proof

New codes of communication

How much do you love your mother? How much do you love your mummy? Same question, different answers, as shown by a study conducted on a sample of Italian people at the University of Milano-Bicocca.

If you want a thing done well, (don’t) do it yourself

Back in 1999, we conducted the first Italian research on online trading for Credito Italiano. CONSOB had just released the first regulation implementing the Legislative Decree 58/1998 (the C...

The future that awaits us

Bluerating | June 2020 Before the pandemic, banks and insurance companies would compete to see who could build the highest skyscraper or host thousands of employees. The richer the family, the higher the tower, just as in the Middle Ages. Suffice it to think of

‘Resilient’ consultancy

Advisor | June 2020 When we think of resilience, we often focus on images of epic heroes such as Maximus Decimus Meridius, the Roman general portrayed by Russell Crowe in Ridley Scott’s epic historical film Gladiator. What unites a fearless hero (Joan of Arc, for

Private banking put to the test

AP Advisor Private | May 2020 Until a few years ago, the market of private banking used to be an island of happiness in the middle of a relatively calm sea: investments with guaranteed returns and low risk; prudential objectives of clients focused on maintaining the value of their assets; strong

New vulnerabilities, savers in search of protection.

A unique opportunity. Insurance Daily | May 2020 The issue of new vulnerabilities related to ESG themes has been on the agenda of all stakeholders since before the pandemic. We need only read the letter written in January 2020 by Larry Finch, Founder & CEO of BlackRock, the largest asset management company (7 million dollars): “We are on

Communication between HNWI

and private bankers in the time of coronavirus We Wealth | May 2020 How has the communication between HNWI clients and bankers changed in the time of lockdown? Let’s start with two emblematic cases, the product of ethnographic observations confirmed by the results of a

AMCS and distribution system united by the same fate

SGR and distribution before and after the pandemic Investire | May 2020 Before the pandemic, it was a race between AMCs: the number of financial roadshows, the most evocative locations, the best buffets and the most original gadgets. For some time now, a feeling has

Starting over:

guidelines for fas and financial networks Bluerating | May 2020 Financial advisors and financial networks have never been so close to their clients – their prompt response to the emergency is characteristic of an industry carrying in its DNA proactivity, empathy and sympathy with clients.

The light after the lockdown

Finer and Assogestioni Focus Risparmio | April 2020 Assogestioni, with the support of FINER, has promoted the monitoring of the sentiment of the professionals in the field of finance (financial advisors, private bankers and managers), with the aim of evaluating the repercussions of the lockdown

Banks and insurance companies united by the same fate

Insurance Review | April 2020 There are at least three reasons why banks and insurance companies share a common destiny: 1) they deal with the same ‘raw material’, money management and protection; 2) they are enduring the maturity of the markets in which they operate

The financial advisor is always there, in good and bad times

Financial Consultants and Covid emergency Investire | April 2020 Financial advisors have responded to the health emergency that has been plaguing our country for weeks with an esprit de corps second only to that of the medical and public security staff. A well-known Latin proverb

Banks and networks by the side of their clients

Emergency management Bluerating | April 2020 The networks of financial advisors and our banks have shown the ability to manage the emergency with clarity of mind and composure. Financial advisors reassured and supported their clients in dealing with issues linked to their investments, most certainly

In time of emergency italy goes digital

Smart-working and Covid-19 Advisor | April 2020 Before the coronavirus emergency, 2% of employees worked from home in Italy, compared to 20,2% in the UK, 16,6% in France, and 8,6% in Germany. Then, the pandemic broke out and in two weeks – the Ministry of

Insights

UHNWIs & Financial Advisory

BANKS: THE CHARGE IN FINANCIAL ADVISORS

ACTIVE ETFs AND “CLEAN SHARE CLASS” FUNDS: THE FUTURE OF ASSET MANAGEMENT

INSURANCE COMPANIES: KEY PLAYERS IN THE BANKING SHAKE-UP

The financial advisor of the future: an architect of life

Asset Management Companies (AMCs) and Distributors in Italy: Evolving a Strategic Relationship

Financial Advisors and Compensation

Unprepared to face the new world – Interview

A DESTINY IN THE NAME

Investing Needs a Trusted Professional

FROM WEALTH TO INCOME

ASSET AND WEALTH MANAGEMENT: CONVERGING TRENDS

BANCASSURANCE: FINANCIAL ADVICE TEACHES

TRUST STARTS IN THE TERRITORY

FINANCIAL ADVICE STARTING WITH ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

MANAGERS: THREE MISSIONS PLUS ONE

FINANCIAL ADVISORS DESPERATELY WANTED

BANKS AT THE CROSSROADS BETWEEN NETWORKS AND CHALLENGER BANKS

BANKS AND CUSTOMERS. ITALIANS AND SPANIARDS ARE THE MOST LOYAL OF ALL

BUSINESS CREDIT: ARE BANKS BETTER THAN FINANCIAL ADVISORY NETWORKS?

FINANCIAL ADVISORY: THE THREE CHALLENGES FOR 2026

PRIVATE MARKETS, ETFs, CHALLENGER BANK: HOW THE FUTURE OF INVESTMENTS IS CHANGING

ETFs RHYME WITH ADVANCED ADVICE

FINANCIAL ADVISORY NETWORKS AND ASSET MANAGEMENT COMPANIES

FINANCIAL ADVISOR: A LIGHT IN THE DARK

CLOSE-RANGED NETWORKS

THE FUTURE DOES NOT WAIT

PHILANTHROPY AND BANKS: PERFECT ALLIES

CONSULTING IS GETTING INTELLIGENT

SCALABLE CONSULTING

PERSONAL AND BANKING AFFINITIES BEHIND THE RISIKO

THE CONSULTANT OF THE FUTURE

BANKS AND INSURANCE COMPANIES: PROFESSIONALS AT THE CENTER

THREE SERVICE MODELS, ONE WINNER

Soft Skills: The Advisor’s Game Is Based on Empathy (and Teamwork)

A third of Italians don’t know when to invest and for how long

FINANCIAL ADVISORS FROM FATHER TO SON

BANKING BIODIVERSITY

TWO BRANDS, TWO CULTURES: BUTTERFLY OR SEAL?

BEHIND THE BANK RISIKO TO CONQUER ASSET MANAGEMENT

RISIKO: AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THE BEST FINANCIAL ADVISORS

FEE-BASED ADVICE: INVESTMENT DEMOCRACY

TNB: FIVE NEW FEATURES FROM THE NEW BANK

Takeover bids, trends, and products: all the evolutions in financial advisory

WOMEN THE SILENT MAJORITY

BANKS AND NETWORKS: PASSING THE BATON

EVOLUTION OF FINANCIAL CONSULTING

FINANCIAL INFLUENCERS IN ITALY

BANKING RISIKO: THE NIGHT MUST PASS

ACTIVE CONSULTING PASSIVE MANAGEMENT

FINANCIAL CONSULTING THE TWO ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCES

BANKERS WITH A LICENSE TO GO OUT AND HUNT FOR AFFLUENTS

THE EVOLUTION OF CONSULTANTS, BETWEEN DIGITAL AND LONGEVITY

BETWEEN BANKS AND COMPANIES, IT’S TIME FOR CHANGE

LION HUNT

GIVING VOICE TO FINANCIAL CONSULTING

BANKING RISIKO: THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS

RISIKO: THE 4 REASONS TO STAY OR CHANGE BANK

IF THE CONSULTANT GOES TO THE BANK

FINANCIAL ADVICE: A MATTER OF COUPLES

THE LEADER MAKES THE WINNING MOVE

FINANCIAL ADVISORY NETWORKS THE CHALLENGES OF 2025

2025 BACK TO THE FUTURE (OF MANAGED ASSETS)

FINANCIAL ADVISOR NETWORKS AND BANKING RISIKO

THE RETURN OF ASSET MANAGEMENT

CONSULTANCY NETWORKS: THE DIVERSITY OF MODELS

BANKS START THE RISIKO ON ASSET MANAGEMENT AND PROTECTION

INTELLIGENT ADVICE

NETWORK RECRUITMENT, THE REASONS THAT HOLD YOU BACK AND THOSE THAT PUSH YOU TO CHANGE

THE EXODUS IS LACKING FROM BANKER TO CONSULTANT

BEHAVIORAL FINANCE: IF TWO NOBELS SEEM FEW TO YOU

PROTECTION AND ASSET MANAGEMENT: BANKS CLOSE RANKS

CONSULTANTS: BEHAVIORAL FINANCE IS UNDERUSED

FINANCIAL ADVICE WHEN MONEY IS NOT EVERYTHING

THE VALUE OF CERTIFICATION

SEMI-ANNUAL REPORTS AND CF SATISFACTION: PARALLEL CONVERGENCIES

FINANCIAL ADVICE AND DIGITAL TRANSITION: HUNT FOR TALENT

SPORT AND FINANCE

CONSULTING: YOUNG CUSTOMERS GROW