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 the state of financial consulting in Italy and the challenges of the sector, which opened the third edition of the event “The value of consulting” and was presented during the event branded WSI, held at Piazza Affari on February 6.
What are the main changes that are influencing the world of financial consulting?
“Today we are facing two major transformations: longevity and the second digital revolution. The first brings four generations to live together in the same family and to interface simultaneously with a financial advisor: eighty-year-olds, sixty-year-olds, forty-year-olds and twenty-year-olds, each with different needs and approaches. The second revolution, driven by artificial intelligence and digital, has introduced new channels of interaction: the traditional financial advisor, the remote advisor, mobile apps and the web. The challenge for the sector is to manage this multi-channel effectively”.
So, the financial advisor remains a central and essential figure for Italian investors?
“Absolutely yes. The data shows that customers supported by a financial advisor are much more satisfied than those who do not have one. The advisor remains essential for at least three of the four current generations. However, younger people are starting to move towards digital tools and different advisory models. It is no coincidence that in recent years we have seen the entry of new banks and digital platforms into the Italian market. The sector cannot afford to ignore this phenomenon”.
How are Italians’ attitudes towards consultancy changing?
“We have identified four types of investors: the delegating party, the controller, the protagonist and the partner. In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of ‘controllers’, who carefully follow their advisor, and the ‘protagonists’, who want to independently manage their investments. These trends show that the role of the financial advisor must evolve: it is no longer enough to manage the client’s assets, it is necessary to accompany them with a more personalized and dynamic consultancy approach”.
Italians are traditionally known for being big savers. What is the latest evidence that has emerged in this regard from your new research?
“Italians are great savers, but terrible investors. We have an increasingly marked gap between those who save and those who invest, and this year the gap has reached a record. This means that, while on the one hand there is a large amount of savings, on the other the propensity to invest them is still too low. This situation represents a challenge, but also a huge opportunity for the financial consultancy sector”.
And the profile of the financial consultant? Is it changing too?
“Yes, and significantly. If in the 1980s the dominant figure was the striker, the classic financial advisor oriented towards sales, today the consultant must be more strategic. We see the growth of the profile of the midfielder, a figure who knows how to listen, interact and adapt to the needs of the client. This type of consultant no longer works as a free hitter, but relies on the resources of his bank to offer increasingly complete and innovative services. Without this evolution, the financial consultancy sector would risk losing relevance”.
What are the future challenges for financial consultancy?
“The growth potential is still enormous, but there are two key challenges: longevity and digital. The number of clients supported by financial consultants is still a minority compared to the total population, so there is ample room for expansion. However, we must not rest on our laurels: the sector must continue to innovate, respond to demographic and digital changes, and above all anticipate the needs of future clients”.
So, what is the final message for the sector?
“The final message is that it is not enough to be a successful industry: you have to continually evolve. The world of financial
advisory has already shown that it can adapt, but the biggest challenge is to maintain this dynamism and this capacity for innovation. Only in this way can it continue to be a point of reference for Italian investors”.Interview by Luca Losito with Nicola Ronchetti