Financial Services dot com

Financial planners will wither and die unless they harness the enormous power of the Internet. So says Gary Chow, organiser of the first ever financial services dot com conference which will run from 7-8 June at the Renaissance Hotel in Syd-ney.

Financial planners will wither and die unless they harness the enormous power of the Internet. So says Gary Chow, organiser of the first ever financial services dot com conference which will run from 7-8 June at the Renaissance Hotel in Syd-ney.

"In Australia we are dragging our heels, still putting faith in face to face distribution," says Chow. "Fund managers are reluctant to change course out of fear of upsetting the distribution network. But they can't afford to do that."

The real threat to the industry, says Chow, comes from the big end of town.

"I think companies like ninemsn backed by Packer, once they get a database of names (and they're already getting it) are going to be a massive challenge. Fi-nancial planners have to wake up to that fact."

Chow does however acknowledge that as an industry, financial services is rela-tively quick to embrace new technology.

"Already, we have seen a transformation in the way consumers bank, apply for home loans and invest in shares and managed investments - which can all be done on the Internet. Most companies now have a website, which they use primarily to market their products and services."

What concerns him is that the industry may not be tapping the net to its full potential.

"Try this quick quiz. Is your company transacting business online? Is your company saving money by using online procurement models? Is your company serv-icing clients online? Do your clients give you online feedback to help with product development? Are you using online prospectuses to cut down the cost of printing? Are you exploiting the reach and scope of email to relate to your customers and win business? Is your company sufficiently 'Net-centric' to com-pete in the new world economy?"

If the answer to one or more of these questions is no, Chow believes you should do a rethink. But doing a rethink does not mean completely abandoning the tra-ditional approach to business.

"It need not be an all or nothing approach," says Chow. "Planners can - and should - have a 'clicks and mortar' approach to their businesses, incorporating both traditional and internet strategies."

To that end, the financial services dot.com conference offers a fine menu of speakers, selected from the brightest young minds of the online industry.

"We've selected speakers from interesting companies doing things at the cutting edge," says Chow.

One such speaker is Tim Blakely from ID Media, a company with the finger on the pulse of webcasting.

"Webcasting is like TV using the web as the means of broadcast," says Chow. "If I was a fund manager or a financial planning company and wanted to advertise my latest product or explain to clients what the budget means to them, I'd get someone to film me and put it on the web and broadcast it."

And Blakely is but one of the many Internet experts speaking at the conference.

"The conference has it all - from specialist new economy firms such as Presence Online, Sinewave Interactive and www.consult, to Internet subsidiaries and joint ventures of international conglomerates such as News Limited, Microsoft and PBL. And to complement these Internet presenters, there will be case studies from leading funds management companies including BT Funds Management and ANZ Funds Management."

Financial services dot.com is run in association with Money Management and is being sponsored by one of Australia's leading Internet companies, Presence On-line.

And stay tuned for next year's conference, when financial services dot com. may very well become a virtual conference broadcast from the net!

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