At a recent virtual event hosted by Nasdaq, ETF industry experts discussed how firms are embracing the digital revolution accelerated by the coronavirus pandemic, adopting new technologies and leveraging market data in new ways to connect with clients. The panel also highlighted the rise of thematic investing, including several themes that have come to the fore, such as cybersecurity, biotech and environmental, social and governance (ESG), but emphasized that investor education remains critical to healthy markets.
“The global investment community has pivoted to a digital world during the pandemic,”Lauren Dillard, Head of Investment Intelligence at Nasdaq, said during Nasdaq’s recent Virtual Cabana Poolside Chat. “Since much of the workforce transitioned to a remote environment, everything from investment strategies to investor engagement was impacted. Client engagement needs to be meaningful, and insights have to be actionable and consumable to deliver on investment thesis.”
During the virtual event, a panel comprised of Dillard, John Molesphini, Global Head of Insights ateVestment, a Nasdaq platform, and Dave Nadig, CIO and Director of Research at ETF Trends, and moderated by Tom Lydon, CEO ofETF Trends, discussed how the financial services industry is embracing digitalization while recognizing the need for humanization to establish meaningful partnerships.
“It’s the firms relying on all the data in this digital world, but still managing to have the client connection, that are going to be best suited to take advantage of what’s to come and what we’ve experienced in the last 12 months,” said Molesphini. “It’s having an internal infrastructure in place to take advantage of the data when it’s available and having the distribution network. This will allow you to communicate more effectively with clients or adjust distribution network based on some of the trends you see.”
As many firms rapidly accelerated their digitalization efforts amid the pandemic, several investment themes also benefitted, notably cyber, cloud and biotech, Dillard argued. She also highlighted the rise in energy transition, the growing need to strengthen domestic infrastructure and the performance of the Nasdaq-100 Index.
“The Nasdaq-100 companies represent the modern industrial way we are all living,” said Dillard. “We are seeing demand around the globe, further heightened during the pandemic. In 2020, over $23 billion of net inflows into NDX ETF products, highlighting the strength of Nasdaq-100 companies.”
Beyond these themes, Dillard and the other panelists spoke about the emergence of ESG in mainstream investment strategies.
“The industry come to recognize the fundamental differences between environmental, social, and governance criteria. They fit in portfolios in very different ways and give investors different exposure,” Dillard said. “But we finally see an understanding that ESG doesn’t just mean clean energy; it also doesn’t just mean gender diversity. The level of sophistication among the investing community around ESG has accelerated.”
Because ESG is top of mind for many investors, Molesphini emphasized that when talking to clients and prospects, “you’re not just pitching them a product, you’re pitching them your firm.”
“We found that the best way to have an effective discussion on ESG is to approach the topic with an outcome oriented thinking,” Dillard added. “What are you trying to achieve, and what are your clients asking you around whether it’s E or it’s S, or it’s G.”
Molesphini also stressed the importance of communicating and engaging with clients, especially in a rapidly changing market environment, not only regarding ESG but also with new products and market conditions.
“We had market volatility and market trends that were taking place before the virus—low-interest rates and people looking to diversify, looking at alternative asset classes, looking at more thematic investing,” said Molesphini. “You can see that with some of our ETF providers bringing more product into the market. Then, on top of the investment themes going on, you have the virus, [and you have to] engage with the clients and educate them on what’s going on, but also keep them comfortable in this environment.”
ETF Trends’ Nadig reflected upon his recent experiences with financial advisors, noting that they “talk about wanting to have fewer, better relationships,” and many have adopted new technologies.
“Most [advisors] report that their relationships with their clients have gotten better through all of this. They’ve had more frequent contact, more meaningful contact,” said Nadig.
“I would argue that to some degree there’s a humanization element that has happened as a result of this, which can deepen partnerships. I definitely believe that the idea of those fewer, deeper partnerships has resonated,” noted Dillard.
“Portfolios are getting really complex,” Dillard said. “All of that ties back to more education and working with the right partners. It also means to listen to our clients and understand what investors they are trying to target because I can promise you the one that wants fixed income type products is probably not the same as the one that wants a crypto product.”