Recommendations for Asset Building

The financial crisis and economic downturn have reshaped the financial services landscape. While these events have by no means run their course, it’s critical to start looking ahead. Over the past year, the Center for Financial Services Innovation (CFSI) has been studying the literature analyzing the impacts and future implications of the crisis; interviewing policy experts, business executives, academics, and thought leaders; and convening small group discussions. Our goal has been to understand how impending changes—in demographics, the macroeconomic environment, regulation and legislation, technology, cultural paradigms, and institutional dynamics—will affect the structure of the financial services industry.

While we don’t claim to have a crystal ball, this process has given us some sense of the opportunities and challenges these trends may create for the asset-building field. Like headwinds or tailwinds, these trends may make it either easier or more difficult for the leaders, funders, and practitioners who are working to shape the field’s future. Some strategies will find clear skies and fast sailing, while others will have to weather choppier waters.

Download CFSI's research paper about future financial predictions based on current trends below.