Seizing opportunities offered by the major trends in the financial sector in 2020

The rise of digital finance remains one of the most powerful forces at play for the financial sector

2019 was a great year for Robeco’s FinTech and New World Financials strategies, as both substantially outperformed their benchmarks. The situation looks promising for 2020 as well, as the trends we identified and positioned for continue to unfold. In particular, the rise of digital finance, including the technology needed to power it, remains one of the most powerful forces at play for the financial sector. This applies not just in a few rich countries, but around the globe.

The fintech sector should continue to benefit from ongoing long-term shifts, such as the rising demand both domestically and internationally for digital payment services and the growing success of neo-banks; in other words, banking businesses set up by tech companies and, in particular, e-commerce players and other service providers such and Uber and Amazon.

Meanwhile, prospects also remain bright in emerging markets for those financial companies able to take advantage of both growing and aging middle classes. In these markets too, digitalization is having far-reaching consequences and remains a key driver of investments in technology. Investors should therefore keep an eye on what big tech companies are doing in the financial services arena there, too.