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In the old days, fund savings were reserved for the pros or those with a lot of money. Today, two million Norwegians save in funds, and they expect simple user experiences, transparent costs and a high degree of innovation.
Anita Hoemsnes points in DN on 25 June on some of the challenges associated with DNB’s bid for Sbanken. It is well known that fund providers have historically made good money from high management costs in funds, because customers have been relatively unaware of how much they pay in management fees. The bank marked itself as a breath of fresh air in the industry. They set a new standard for user experiences, and challenged established pricing models with the provocative vulture campaign in 2019.
With increased transparency in the market and record low bank interest rates, ordinary people have opened their eyes to fund savings. According to a survey conducted by Opinion for the Norwegian Mutual Funds Association, 46 percent or two million Norwegians over the age of 18 now save in funds. 12 percent of these are newcomers to the fund market last year, most of the newcomers are between 30 and 39 years old.
When Sbanken attacked the established players, they received a good response from customers. It is now emerging through a fascinating grassroots commitment. The Facebook group “Save the Bank” has more than 8,000 members. A common thread in the comment fields is that fund customers value innovation, simple user experiences and transparent costs.
And it is not just in the case of Sbanken that we see a growing interest in savings, investment and personal finance. The commitment among women is particularly positive: the Facebook group DN Women has more than 31,000 members, the Share Girls more than 33,000 members and Moneypenny almost 35,000 members. Fees and returns are frequently discussed. Fund customers are no longer as unconscious as they once were.
Regardless of the outcome of the Norwegian Competition Authority’s assessment of the future for Sbanken and DNB, it is difficult to imagine that we will return to the market situation as it was before.
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When one door closes, another opens. Several new players have come on the scene with innovative, competitive offers to customers, and we will probably see even more in the future in this market – both Norwegian and international companies. Challengers such as Bulder Bank and Kron are already noticing growth well. The newcomers in the industry have just started to realize the potential in the wake of PSD2 and “Open Banking”, which paves the way for completely new collaboration and business models.
When technology develops at lightning speed, there is no reason for the past to determine the future. The fund savers’ increased awareness and commitment will hardly be replaced by apathy, on the contrary. Two million Norwegians know better now. The rules of the game have changed, and it is the consumers, not the industry, who are in power.(Terms)Copyright Dagens Næringsliv AS and / or our suppliers. We want you to share our cases using a link, which leads directly to our pages. Copying or other use of all or part of the content may only take place with written permission or as permitted by law. For additional terms look here.
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