BNP Paribas Wealth Management's Purpose
Vincent Lecomte, CEO of BNP Paribas Wealth Management, has some thoughts and some firm opinions on the last several months. Vincent firmly believes that a sense of purpose, a desire to do good, should be at the core of an individual’s ethos and that of businesses alike. And it is quite clear BNP Paribas Wealth Management must accompany its clients in creating a more harmonious and sustainable future. Let’s take five minutes.
BUT IS SUSTAINABILITY JUST THE NEWEST INVESTMENT TREND?
VL: Absolutely not! Investors and consumers alike have realized they have huge power through their choices to make positive change. For instance, this year’s Global Entrepreneur Report showed that 70% of entrepreneurs are more willing to invest sustainably than just 18 months ago! Not only that, they intend to quadruple their investments! That’s phenomenal. It’s definitely not just a trend.
Sustainability is at the core of our DNA; it drives our offering. I can give you two examples: first, we developed a unique digital tool called myImpact. With myImpact, clients go on an interactive journey, alone or with their RM, which helps them define their priorities in terms of sustainability and philanthropy. And then, with this information, we can design with our clients a strategy and propose solutions that match their priorities.
The second example, a real game-changer in my opinion, is our new “Clover Methodology” It rates the level of sustainability of all the products we recommend across all asset classes. This will really facilitate our clients’ ability to have an impact.
Promoting sustainability and providing our clients the opportunities and tools to achieve their goals are at the heart of our culture and part of our purpose as a private bank. I am very proud of that.
WHAT ABOUT THE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION WE ARE SEEING?
VL: If you aren’t already digital, you’ve missed the boat because your clients have sailed away. And the crisis accelerated their digital expectations.
Just a few years back, we co-designed an entire suite of digital solutions with our clients who jumped at the chance to participate. And we’re always working to innovate and leverage technologies to better serve our clients. What clients have really appreciated is that our digital solutions are designed for and by the people actually using them. Unsurprisingly, during the confinement period, we saw an increase in the use of our core client digital solutions.
YOU TALKED ABOUT PURPOSE. HOW WOULD YOU DEFINE THE PURPOSE OF BNP PARIBAS WEALTH MANAGEMENT?
VL: To understand what our purpose is, I think that you need to look at where our expertise lies and what we achieve together with our clients. Our job has always been to transform complex challenges into opportunities. This is what we do for our clients every day. Our clients, with their investment and business decisions, can have a positive impact around them. When we combine our individual and collective expertise with our clients’ potential for impact, we can build a sustainable and harmonious future for all of us.
For me, our purpose underlines not only the contribution we can make to our clients, but the responsibility that we have to each other in our local communities and to society as a whole.
That’s our purpose. This is the unifying factor which we all share collectively. It’s the “why” of what we do every day, our “raison d’être”. And our purpose must drive our strategy. I firmly believe that we must all contribute to a better world and my role is to ensure we do just that.
Our Purpose at Wealth Management is fully aligned with the BNP Paribas Group’s Purpose of engaging with our clients to create a better future.
Take a look at our film that explains how we see our Purpose at BNP Paribas Wealth Management in this ever-changing world.
THE COVID-19 CRISIS IS UNPARALLELED IN OUR TIMES. HOW HAVE YOU AND YOUR COLLEAGUES MANAGED? WHAT ABOUT YOUR CLIENTS?
VL: Resilience and solidarity are the first things that I think of. Solidarity in joining together to face the challenges of the health crisis; resilience in weathering the storm. Collectively, we all worked together as a team to stay close to our clients during this unprecedented period in our lives.
There’s another word that I’ve heard repeatedly from clients over the last 18 months or so and that’s “sustainability”. And I hear it more and more, especially now. Our clients tell us they expect solutions to help them achieve a positive impact in society.
And I have to say how proud I am of the incredible dedication to our clients that our teams have shown during this crisis. We changed our ways of working, adopted new solutions to stay in touch, and ensured our clients continued to receive the highest levels of service that they expect from us.
I have to say thanks to each and every member of Wealth Management.