Who's working on today's breakout ideas?
Introducing Finfluential, a weekly influence-spotting newsletter
In the investment industry, influence is almost everything. Perhaps the one thing it isn’t is static.
The institutional and financial intermediary space, in particular, has benefited from the continuous spark of bright ideas that challenge convention, modify behavior, better inform decision making.
But if you’re focused on the mainstream, you can miss a lot—or arrive late.
As the table below suggests, the industry has a rich history of innovative thinking and influences that originated far away from a corporate mandate and funding sponsor. Many individuals turned ideas into passion projects and side hustles because they recognized an opportunity or need—and believed they were the ones to bring it to life.
The industry benefited from the personal investments of time and money made by these trailblazers, the risks they took, the doubts they overcame. This is a partial listing of initiatives that started small, demonstrated their durability, and ultimately won an industry over.
Who’s working on what today with the potential to impact and influence in a way that will ripple through the industry tomorrow?
Person, place, thing, AI application—we wish we knew! Because of our own day job in financial PR and digital marketing, our ears are to the ground, listening for what’s breaking out. Originated by whomever to do whatever. If it’s new and getting traction, we want to learn all about its plan to disrupt the status quo.
So, that’s what Finfluential is about. If you’re curious, too, subscribe for our influence-spotting posts. We’re throwing a wide net, don’t expect to get everything right, but we’ll do our best.
Ride along with us. Better yet, if you know someone or thing we should be profiling, drop us a note.
Next up: Meet Brent Sullivan, the independent consultant who took it upon himself to map the universe of direct indexing providers—and became an instant industry resource and yes, influence.