I am in a traditional financial services business - but we at Fidelity can see that the evolution of technology is setting our industry up for disruption. What if this technology could do for the transfer of value what the Internet did for the transfer of information?
I'm a believer. I'm one of the few standing before you today from a large financial services company that has not given up on digital currencies.
We are not into financial services, and we are not interested also because we find we are better in branded marketing enterprises.
Fortunately, in Piramal Enterprises, we are in three broad sectors. One is in the whole financial services sector, the second is in pharmaceuticals, and the third is in healthcare analytics and data.
I am not for buying into financial services firms because I am not sure of the quality.
Coming to the growth potential in financial services, there is enough data to show that, usually, financial services grow about twice or two and a half times of what the economy, the GDP growth rates.
Too few people in my old field of financial services were ever brought to book for their part in the 2008 crash.
Our large size, capital base, robust funding profile, extensive distribution network, diversified portfolio, presence across the financial services sector, and leadership in technology position us very well to leverage the growth opportunities across the economy.
Probably the hardest question I get asked is, 'How do I choose between passion and practicality?' I can't answer that. I had to do both. I was passionate about pursuing a career in financial services. But I was also passionate about feeding my child.
Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle and Leeds have successful financial services sectors. There are good universities there which provide great opportunities for local technological innovation. And there are strong multinational and family businesses.
