Holistic Solutions, Intelligent Automation, and the Future of Asset Management with Yaqub Ahmed and Harshendu Bindal

In this episode, Jack Sharry talks with Yaqub Ahmed and Harshendu Bindal of Franklin Templeton. Yaqub is Head of the U.S. Investment-Only Division while Harshendu leads  Digital Strategy and Wealth Management.

While his parents wanted Yaqub to pursue medicine, Yaqub fell in love with financial services and began his career as a record keeper in an asset management organization. Having spent the last 11 years at Franklin Templeton, today Yaqub focuses on the U.S. retirement insurance sub-advisory and Franklin Templeton’s 529 businesses. 

For Harshendu, his journey in financial services began 27 years ago. He studied engineering in college and stumbled into the industry following graduation. With 24 years of experience at Franklin Templeton under his belt, Harshendu is now responsible for establishing strategic partnerships with global financial institutions and other distribution partners on the retail side of the business. 

Jack, Yaqub, and Harshendu discuss the role of technology in establishing strategic partnerships and providing holistic solutions for clients, why intelligent automation helps advisors thrive, and what the future holds for asset managers. 

“Advisors are not going away, they’re just evolving. And we see them be more and more financial life coaches to their clients. And as an asset management industry, I think we need to understand and pave for that transition.” ~ Harshendu Bindal

Main takeaways 

• Cultural fit is the number one determining factor of whether a merger will be successful. 
• Technology plays a crucial role in providing better outcomes and holistic solutions for clients. And great technology allows us to embed solutions into advisors’ existing workflow. 
• As the role of financial advisors continues to evolve, we need to start encouraging advisors to intelligently automate what needs to be automated. 
• Over the next few years, there will be several big shifts within the asset management industry. Financial personalization will be commonplace, US workers will increasingly seek out financial wellness and advice from their employers, and collaboration within the industry will increase.
• Advisors should consider outsourcing the parts of their business that they either don’t have expertise in or don’t have the passion for. Sometimes it’s best to let technology run those aspects of the business. 
• Advisors must leverage capabilities that are delivering personalization. 

Links

• Yaqub on LinkedIn
• Harshendu on LinkedIn
• Franklin Templeton
• AdvisorEngine
• Wealth Tech On Deck Episode 001: Personalization, Scaling Efficiently, and Serving the Underserved with Ed Murphy
• Empower Retirement

Connect with our hosts

• LifeYield
• Jack Sharry on LinkedIn
• Jack Sharry on Twitter

Subscribe and stay in touch

• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• LinkedIn
• Twitter
• Facebook