Thomas Ytterholm, Nordnet: Close customer relationships and digital tools both play an important future role in Asset Management

Thomas Ytterholm is Head of Partner of Nordnet and has a long and extensive experience within finance. In other words, he has witnessed the changes in the industry up close.

– In my current role as Head of Partner, I am responsible for our offering, service, and sales towards professional Partners such as Asset Managers, Insurance brokers or others within the financial community. I am also responsible for a small, efficient and highly skilled team of eight people that covers everything from sales, negotiation, agreements, administration, support, and follow-up in order for us to be able to provide excellent services, says Thomas Ytterholm.

Nordnet has played an important role in digitizing and revolutionizing the financial industry and investments. In the early 2000s, Nordnet was one of the internet brokers that identified attractive new business opportunities within the insurance industry and became a disruptive force for digitalization in this market.

Implementing effective digital tools is important to be able to meet the heavy regulations and high demands that Asset Managers are facing today.

– The financial industry is becoming more fragmented. As the number of investment and saving options keeps growing, modern consumers are no longer loyal to their banks. As a consequence, we’re seeing a tougher competitive situation that will only continue in the future. There are more niche players on the market that are differentiating themselves through their offering and payment models, where Nordnet is one of them, says Thomas.

In his role, Thomas has noticed a growing demand for digital services in particular, and he is convinced that today's Asset Managers will follow in the same direction as Nordnet. Meanwhile, the Asset Management industry is facing challenges due to regulations, changing investor demands and rising inflation. The way Thomas sees it, there will always be a need for human management and counseling.

– Asset Managers need to be able to adapt to the changing market demand and regulations while still being able to meet their client's needs. Often, their clients don’t have time to make their own investment decisions and there are still many who value meeting their asset manager in person. Building valuable customer relationships is therefore crucial. Now and in the future, effective digital tools that simplify administrative tasks and experienced asset managers both play an important role.

Implementing effective digital tools is also important to be able to meet the heavy regulations and high demands that Asset Managers are facing today, Thomas continues.

– There is a larger need for digital tools and system support that facilitates making the right investment decisions and minimizes the risk of making mistakes and errors, to make Asset Managers everyday lives easier. At the same time, many Asset Management firms are often small or medium-sized companies, and do not have the time or financial ability to build their own digital platforms, and therefore need to find an effective and reasonably priced solution, Thomas says.

For Nordnet, as well as for other businesses in the banking and asset management industry, security and compliance will be the top priorities going forward, as the world is becoming more uncertain, says Thomas. – Security and compliance are on everyone's minds and agendas today, and focusing on regulations will be a priority for many years to come. To meet this challenge, we are on a transformation to become more efficient, faster, and better across all channels, and this is something we are developing every day, he finishes.