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The financial services industry is currently experiencing one of the worst crises in history. But how did we find ourselves in this predicament? What are the underlying trends? What does the future hold for banks, insurance companies and pension funds? 

In The Future of Finance, VODW partner Roger Peverelli and renowned futurologist Adjiedj Bakas reveal what the future has in store for the financial industry.
The authors provide detailed analyses of the four megatrends which will bring about radical changes across the sector in the coming decades and readers will discover how, by understanding these changes, businesses and individuals can look forward to a bright financial future.

The financial sector currently faces unprecedented challenges.
First, it must find a way to overcome the credit crisis and, once the storm has passed, banks, insurance companies and pension funds will need to undergo a number of far-reaching structural changes.
Globalization will give rise to an entirely new competitive arena. New emerging markets such as China, India, Russia and Brazil are gaining a strong foothold on the financial economic world stage. Sovereign wealth funds from the Middle East and Asia will become large shareholders of established Western banks and insurance companies.
Corporations such as Google, which are not currently part of the sector, will apply for banking licenses, and following Virgin's lead companies such as EasyJet will launch financial products while Sony and Aegon will market insurance products in Japan.
The Western world will be faced with the problem of an ageing population.
At the same time there will be a religious, spiritual and ethical revival. Technology will radically change our lives. The power is now definitely in the hands of the consumer.

The Future of Finance takes megatrends from different realms and looks at the full picture, illustrating it with inspiring examples from all over the world.
The book contains contributions from top managers from the largest enterprises in the financial world, including the ING Group, Royal Bank of Scotland, Merrill Lynch and Zurich Financial Services.
The Future of Finance is highly accessible, contains little jargon and transcends hype. This book reaches beyond today's problems and is provocative and ambitious in its scope. A brand new future awaits financial service providers.

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Three parts, four megatrends and the 2010-2015 management agenda
The Future of Finance consists of three parts. Part I summarises the history of money as well as the origins of banks, insurance companies and pension funds. Part II provides an overview of the four megatrends that are set to radically change the sector over the coming decades.
Part III addresses the key challenges for financial services providers in both the long and short term. This part includes a 2010-2015 management agenda for banks, insurance companies and pension funds: how should we prepare for the future?

Part I. Financial services: history, current situation and future scenarios.
Money replaced bartering and facilitated trade. As a consequence, the economy started to grow on a worldwide scale.
'Bubbles' have long played a role in the sector, examples of which are summarised in this chapter - ranging from the tulip mania to the 1929 crisis, and the IT crisis to the current subprime crisis.
Four potential future scenarios for the sector are presented, using approaches such as the Shell-scenario method.
A fascinating chapter about past and present, and taking a glance at the future.

Part II. Financial services in the 21st century: delineation and megatrends

Megatrend 1. Globalization, a new economic world order, and a rapidly changing competitive arena
How will globalization develop over the coming decades? How will the consolidation continue to develop? What are the twelve pillars of power in tomorrow's world economy? How will supervision develop? Which authorities and powers will companies have to deal with? What are the prospects in emerging markets? What will be the role of state investment funds? Who are the winners and losers in globalization?

Megatrend 2. Dramatic demographic changes, new identities and new perspectives on compelling value propositions
The population is steadily growing older, but in this day and age people are ageing differently.
The world population as a whole is growing at a fast rate, but in some areas there are population explosions whereas in others, the population is shrinking. This is part of the reason behind the continuing rise in labour migration and the emergence of all kinds of citizenships with portable social security rights.
For many people, however, the world has become too big, and they form ‘tribes' with other likeminded people - because at the end of the day everyone wants to find his or her own ‘niche'.
These different tribes all represent a share of the market in the financial sector and are portrayed in this chapter: traditional and new tribes, people with a portable identity, new forms of nationalism and the increasing demand for wellbeing, happiness, religion, spirituality and fulfilment.

Megatrend 3. A connected society, new market place dynamics, and engaged customers
We are seeing more and more technological innovations. The ability to compare insurance premiums on your mobile phone, the granting of a banking license to Google and mobile banking, to name but a few.
In the future, there will be a change in how customers experience money and financial services. The path of purchase changed, among others because of the wisdom of crowds and the rise of comparison engines.
The digitalization of society is dramatically altering consumer behaviour, resulting in a need for new approaches to banking and insurance.

Megatrend 4. Resurrection of ethics, a greater focus on health and happiness, and new objectives for financial services
This chapter deals with developments in relation to the future of natural resources, energy supply and climate change. How does global warming affect production and trading methods and in turn the position of the financial industry? We are gradually moving into a post-material economy, also known as the ‘economy of happiness'. How should we deal with the increase in the demand for wellbeing and healthcare?

Part III. Conclusion and Management Agenda 2010-2015
The final chapter of this new book brings together the future and current situations.
How can the financial sector re-invent itself by going back to its roots and reintegrating the four megatrends into its own strategy? What must leaders of the sector do to tackle the future?

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