Addepar's letter from the founder

4 points

12 years ago

The financial crisis of 2008 marked a structural power shift in investment management, not just a cyclical correction. Investors now have the leverage to demand transparency, and expect answers as soon as questions arise. Complete answers, however, remain unavailable from financial giants. Wall Street responded to the 2008 crisis with quick fixes—technological band-aids—rather than building new, more accountable systems. Wealth-management professionals, as a result, rely on incomplete data, in countless different formats, sent from disparate sources.

Financial products and services are the largest market in the world, with over $1 trillion in annual revenue. But, as we’ve seen, the financial infrastructure is broken. It’s about time for finance—the lifeblood of the global economy—to catch up with other sectors and modernize its technology. The new possibilities offered by “big data” will soon replace closed networks, cut out middlemen, and empower investors. Open platforms will give inside deals and fraudulent advisors no place to hide. This is a good thing for honest wealth managers, and a good thing for the world.