An interview with the senior management team at Davivienda Corredores
Davivienda Corredores is one of the leading stockbrokers and asset managers in Colombia, renowned for building long-term relationships with its clients and a thorough approach to risk management. The firm tailors its offerings in response to the client’s financial needs and goals, its geographic footprint reaches the neighboring Panama.
The European spoke to the company’s senior management team to find out more about its strategy heading into 2021.
How has Davivienda Corredores handled the instability brought about by the global pandemic?
When the market was hit by the pandemic, our initial goals were to provide the necessary liquidity to cover clients’ withdrawals followed by adapting our technology to ensure remote work was smooth and efficient. We kept our clients fully informed about the situation in the markets in order to mitigate fear and uncertainty in their decision-making.
In some respects, the crisis has had some positive outcomes on our operational structure: we have learned how to be agile in unexpected situations, while changing our contingency plans and adapting our technology to the new digital environment. Regarding the Colombian economy, we will continue to closely monitor the evolution of macro indicators, because we believe that crises provide new opportunities.
How do the services that Davivienda Corredores offer differ from their competitors?
In many respects, the financial industry offers very similar services and only really differs in the experience clients have when engaging with their broker. We want our experience to be straight-forward, reliable and friendly. In digital services we offer an investment app, which allows investors to access their portfolio, make transactions and consult all necessary information required for their investments, wherever in the world they might be. For those who prefer web-based services we also offer investment tools on our website. All these services have robust security systems that our clients trust while providing great flexibility, effectively allowing our customers to manage their investments at their convenience anywhere in the world.
Last time we spoke, your organisation had seen its assets under management in mutual funds grow at an annual rate of 36%. Will this trend continue in 2021?
We are continuing to focus on our mutual funds, a strategic product for the firm going forward. As a result, we continue to position ourselves as a benchmark in the industry in terms of profitability and cautious risk management – enabling us maintain our recent growth.
To achieve this, we have enriched our value proposition by launching the 120 Alternative Mutual Fund (FIC Alternativo 120), a fund that invests solely in electronic invoices from companies with the highest ratings on our credit-risk scale, while diversifying across different sectors of the Colombian economy. FIC Alternativo 120 is a vehicle that will help our clients diversify their portfolios.
Are there any new projects in the pipeline for 2021?
We are working on several fronts regarding new projects, these include:
Digital transformation – We have two major digital transformation projects. One is geared towards providing greater efficiency for our clients’ treasury management systems. Another is the development of a new investment vehicle that is part of Colombia’s growing alternatives asset class. The fund seeks to offer liquidity to companies and will help us expand our value proposition.
Strengthening our value proposition – We have been strengthening our digital channels, in line with current trends in mobile devices usage.
Strategic products – We are adding new services to support the growth of our mutual funds, including our real estate fund and the management of third-party portfolios.
Research and intelligence – We are undertaking a wide range of initiatives that will allow us to identify prospective clients with greater potential while providing a better service to our current customers.
Updating technology – We have four mega-projects starting in 2021, which are aimed at improving our clients’ experience. This includes the digitisation of services and new functionalities to support the growth of the company.
Davivienda Corredores now has a dedicated Economic Research portal. Please outline the importance of its function.
We created an Economic Research portal in order to transform the way we deliver our reports. The portal is developed in line with best international standards, and our clients can access the information from any device anywhere in the world. We have also launched other new communication channels, such as live events through our YouTube channel and we will soon be broadcasting financial podcasts, which will allow us to engage much more closely with our client base.
Similarly, we work with highly respected leaders in Colombia and have formed alliances with very influential organisations in order to gain an expert’s overview of the various issues affecting the Colombian economy.
What are your thoughts on the integration of Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru’s stock markets, and how will it affect Davivienda Corredores?
We see the integration as a step forward in the development of capital markets in the region, although there are still many challenges to overcome in terms of taxation, regulation, valuation, currency, to name a few. We are very interested in participating actively in its implementation and consolidation.
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