Here's What the Future of Investing Looks Like

Just as we shifted from stocks to mutual funds to ETFs, and from paper transactions to digital platforms, we can be certain that our clients’ portfolios of the future won’t look like those of the past. MITTX and QQQ changed how people invest, and tomorrow’s innovations will again change how we invest.

So, what’s coming? The rise of blockchain technology and the integration of artificial intelligence in investment management.

Blockchains offer unprecedented speed, transparency and security for financial transactions — as well as substantial cost savings. Each transaction is immutably recorded, offering a robust  defense against fraud and tampering.

For the investment industry, blockchain technology allows all assets, not just securities, to be tokenized, creating liquidity and fractional ownership that can significantly broaden market participation. The democratization and demonetization of money is transformative, creating wealth opportunities for a billion people across the globe.

Simultaneously, AI is revolutionizing investment management by providing deeper, faster analysis of market data than ever before. It automates execution of complex investment  strategies, offers tailored portfolio management at scale and delivers results at a speed unattainable by human analysts.

With its ability to optimize asset allocations in real time, responding swiftly to market changes, AI brings sophisticated financial advice to a wider audience, improving decision-making and improving risk-return ratios through advanced analytics.

These next-gen technologies will redefine investment management. This shift is not just inevitable — it’s already underway.

But no matter what the products are that we choose, we can be confident that they will offer investors new levels of access and inclusion, diversification, low cost, high transparency — and better risk/reward metrics than ever. In the future, it will be easier to create and manage wealth than ever before.

So as we enter this future, let’s tip a hat and drink a toast to Ed Leffler. His innovation set the stage for all the inventions that followed, and we are all better off, thanks to him.

Pictured: Ric Edelman 

Ric Edelman is an author and founder of the RIA Edelman Financial Engines (earlier Edelman Financial Services). He now leads the Digital Assets Council of Financial Professionals.