David Davies founded Navos in 2020, after 12 years at Hargreaves Lansdown, where he was Chief Information Officer. He is based in Bristol, United Kingdom. He sat down with The Wealth Mosaic to discuss the value of industry-embedded expertise, an accountability-driven approach to regulation and risk, and the value of bespoke solutions for wealth management firms.
What makes Navos’s perspective different from that of other technology providers when it comes to working with wealth management firms?
This comes back to why I founded the firm. Before joining Navos I was Chief Information Officer at Hargreaves Lansdown for around a decade. I used a variety of technology firms, and the key trend with those organisations was that they never really understood the industry.
I saw a gap in the market for a technology solutions business wholly dedicated to wealth management. I wanted to create a firm that could bring to market the proposition of how to effectively create and iterate technology, without the headache of explaining what a SIPP or tax year end is, as well as managing all the risks your normal tech firm doesn’t appreciate. That’s the core differentiation between us and other providers: we have lived and breathed the industry we are supporting. We regularly not only provide value, but we also challenge; that in turn builds trust.
We operate under three pillars – advisory, execution, and support; we provide software development, integration, data centre, cybersecurity, and data management services. There’s a key differentiation between creating a technology provision and maintaining, then evolving it; in combining that experience in a ‘one-stop shop’, we are not only springboarding efficiencies for clients but building a unique part of their business.
You spent a significant part of your career as CIO at Hargreaves Lansdown before founding Navos. How does that experience shape your strategy as CEO?
At Hargreaves, I was passionate about delivering technology that could underpin and accelerate business growth in an extremely fast-paced environment. I loved every second of it. I was evolving everything from the client proposition to cybersecurity; it was a 24/7 role, whether ‘keeping the lights on’ or delivering industry-first features, you would find us working more hours than I care to remember.
The pressure of running that market-leading proposition means I know how to deliver the best outcomes for clients, and I was extremely fortunate to work closely with the founders for many years. Now, I feel I’m poacher-turned-gamekeeper. I know what the pressures, challenges, and opportunities are for clients, because I’ve been there. Rest assured, that experience includes when things went badly – which brings a focus that other tech firms often don’t understand.
What do technology firms most often misunderstand about wealth management, particularly when it comes to regulation, risk, and fiduciary responsibility? How does Navos approach that differently?
Building technology solutions in a regulated environment isn’t like passing your driving test, where you can follow the rules for an hour, then be let loose. It’s more like an MOT. A set of standards that must be followed, then evidenced on a regular basis. Yet some IT businesses can and do operate in an industry where they don’t know their GDPR from their SMCR. We’re often called in to rescue a project because it’s off-track: we hear, “it was cheaper to use another firm”, or they were told, “of course we can build an integration with that back office” when the reality was very different.
A wealth firm can’t just pass regulatory responsibility to a random tech company. They still need to remain accountable, but not every business has a Head of IT or CTO. With Navos that is baked into our everyday operation and commercial structure. Solutions that are built by the industry, for the industry, largely bespoke in nature, by a team with real experience. It really does set us apart.
What does that look like in practice and how does it show up in the solutions you build?
Some projects we’ve worked on are bespoke solutions that now help firms deliver more quickly – giving advisers time back, or eliminating double- or treble-keying. Historically, wealth firms had little choice but to adopt off-the-shelf platforms. What we offer is a different path, aligned to new ways of working to drive efficiencies. In many ways we complement the systems already in place.
How does Navos design technology that supports regulatory obligations and safeguarding of client assets without slowing firms down or stifling innovation?
Commonly we’ll hold a workshop, which is client-centric and driven by our industry understanding. We address security at the outset, by design. It’s very common for those security aspects to come in retrospectively, adding cost and time to projects which are already time- and cost-critical. In that workshop we’ll work with clients to define the right solution, but management of risk is never far away from everything we do: that’s part of our construct as a technology business. There are some who mention user experience without considering Consumer Duty – don’t get me started about that!
If you’re looking to deliver a good-quality solution inside wealth management, I would advise working with a technology firm that understands the industry rather than just taking somebody who might muddle their way through. And that means the only option is Navos.
Why do you believe bespoke technology solutions are worth the investment for firms facing increasing margin pressures?
Don’t get me wrong, bespoke isn’t for everyone, but off-the-shelf solutions are often built for the whole market, so if you want customisations within such a system, that normally comes at a premium. Those features that you’ve defined can then be used in future upgrades, meaning your competitors could benefit from your hard work.
Any wealth management firm can buy a fact-finding tool, but it might have 20 pages when the firm’s internal process only requires five. That creates inefficiency for everyone, including clients, so some are using bespoke solutions, introducing efficiency from the outset.
The number of disparate systems in use is a big challenge. Normally, that’s managed by the Ops teams, entering the same information into multiple places. If you bring in something that’s bespoke, that drives integration, you’ll see efficiency and cost savings too. Paying once works for a lot of our clients, especially if firms are looking to reduce inefficiency and increase their market valuation through owning their own technology.
With cybersecurity now a board-level issue for wealth management firms, what are the biggest cyber-risks you see in the sector today, and where do firms most commonly underestimate the challenge?
Within our industry I sometimes get the impression firms think they’re not on the radar of cyber-criminals. I find this a) shocking and b) disappointing. I regularly hear things such as, “we aren’t a target as we only have X hundred million under management”. Believe me, that is a perfect target, and we have been called in when the worst has happened. Wealth management firms are looking after people’s money whilst having regulatory and contractual obligations. The ignorance of some organisations that think it’s fine to simply have a virus scanner installed, and maybe do the odd annual or biannual penetration test – put simply, it isn’t good enough. I do think more could be done to protect firms.
Ransomware is probably one of the core cyber-risks right now. It’s not always understood, so it’s not commonly mitigated. Sometimes a firm says something like “I don’t need to worry about that because I use Microsoft”. There’s a reticence around the responsibility and also the understanding of who does what in technology terms in the Cloud world. It should be a board-level issue but unfortunately that isn’t always the case. If I was on the board of any regulated firm right now, I’d ask one question to their IT team: “Are we at risk of the same issue that hit Jaguar Land Rover?” The answer may surprise you.
How does Navos help wealth management firms approach AI strategically, and what common pitfalls do organisations face when implementing AI initiatives?
We don’t build AI products, but we help organisations deliver outcomes. AI is an exciting opportunity and we work with many firms to ensure our clients choose the right product. Commonly, I will challenge organisations and boards, who are generally the ones seeking an AI solution: “If AI is the answer, what is the question?”. But people don’t always understand what outcome they’re looking for. It’s often a case of “we need AI because a competitor has it”.
We’re often called on because an AI mess needs mopping up, and increasingly I’m needing a bigger mop. AI projects move forward quicker than anything else, and before a firm has addressed other underlying issues. Because the board want it – in whatever guise – money is made available. But first the spider’s web of legacy systems and incomplete data, the inaccessibility of third-party systems all need consideration.
That doesn’t mean AI projects are doomed to fail. We continue to help organisations deliver some very good outcomes, but some businesses are running before they can walk and unfortunately are not being challenged early enough. Where AI is concerned, I’d suggest “measure twice, cut once”. When it does work, the speed of improvements can be impressive.
How do you see the wealth management technology landscape evolving over the next five years, and how are you positioning Navos to take advantage of those trends?
Rapidly and with increasing criticality. Firms are commonly looking to differentiate through digital, and acquiring more assets while driving more functionality. Wealth management today is similar to where banking was, back when if you needed to interact with your bank you either had to visit a branch or use telephone banking – before digital challengers came into the market. That’s what’s happening with wealth management. There’s a lot of investment and consolidation, and increasing demands on technology providers. Success will depend on firms, and the technology industry as a whole, working together to drive better outcomes.
Choice will also be crucial to an effective strategy. If I want to see an adviser, I’ll do so. If I want a virtual meeting, I will; if I want to balance some of my own investing with that of my advised portfolio – great. But who says I need two or three logins with different firms to do that, or no log in at all for my advised money? I want choice and so will the next generation of investors. It’s the next five years that are likely to lay those foundations but not in the way they have been over the previous five years. As a technologist, that to me is extremely exciting.
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About Navos Technologies
Navos Technologies is a dedicated technology consultancy for the financial services sector, supporting clients with expert technology advice, software development, cybersecurity and data solutions.
Having worked across a multitude of industry sectors, including over 100 years of combined experience at Hargreaves Lansdown, the UK's largest investment platform, our consultancy understands exactly how to navigate the toughest technology challenges. This is all done with regulation and compliance at the heart of it. We blend expert knowledge with a track record of delivering innovative results to help your business cross the unchartered waters of technology solutions.
We aren't just a consultancy. Navos can help you on your technology journey from start to finish, and beyond, through our unique proposition of advice, execution and support.
With our team of like-minded technologists and global partners, Navos can champion your technical success while you achieve your business goals.
About The Wealth Mosaic
The Wealth Mosaic is a UK-headquartered online solution provider directory and knowledge resource, focused specifically on the wealth management industry.
For wealth managers, the buy side of our marketplace, The Wealth Mosaic is designed to enable discovery of key solutions, solution providers and knowledge resources by specific business needs.
For solution providers and vendors, the sell side of our marketplace, The Wealth Mosaic exists to support the positioning, exposure and business development needs of these firms in a more complex and demanding market.
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