The PSB talked about the role of financial influencers in the private investment market

Financial bloggers are becoming an important channel for attracting private investors to the stock market, said Alexey Zhogolev, Senior Vice President and Director of the Wealth Management Department of the PSB, at the NAUFOR Russian Stock Market conference.

Speaking at the session "Investor of the future and new products. What transformations are waiting for the market?", Zhogolev noted that the portrait of a retail investor is changing: he is becoming younger, more active and makes decisions on his own more often. "The modern mass investor increasingly comes to the market not through a manager, but through a brokerage application or social media. People are looking for simple solutions to their problems — to beat inflation, save up for a large purchase, and ensure the future of their children. The trust factor plays a key role in this search," he said.

At the same time, Zhogolev stressed that trust in professional market participants remains, but it is becoming more selective.

In his opinion, the trust management market will remain a niche segment and will develop as part of a comprehensive wealth management business with a wide range of related services.

"On the one hand, classical mass production is really shrinking. On the other hand, the very direction of wealth management is becoming more hybrid, as asset management, analytics, support, access to closed opportunities and personalization are beginning to be valued even more than the formal "packaging" of a product. The set of services around the trust management agreement will play a significant role," Zhogolev believes.

Separately, he noted that financial ecosystems remain the driver in the retail investment market. They play a leading role due to their wide customer base, well-developed distribution channels and close interaction with users.

Zhogolev also pointed out the potential of artificial intelligence and neural networks to automate customer service, prepare analytics, and search for investment ideas, which reduces costs and improves work efficiency.