Since the advent of Covid-19, our industry has experienced a fundamental shift in working practices.
At the same time, wealth managers and financial advisers have been tasked with maintaining an exceptional level of client service in the face of once-in-a-generation market volatility.
Regulation, despite the forbearance shown by both government and regulators, still needs to be complied with.
Meanwhile, operational and financial resilience are even more in focus as the full ramifications of this crisis become apparent.
In the savings and investment space, the average pension fund fell by around 15 per cent in the first quarter of 2020, leaving savers facing some of the toughest conditions of any generation yet.
We have seen industrial output fall to catastrophic new lows.
Yet this has resulted in one of the four lowest periods of global pollution in recent history, raising the question of how we approach the generational issue of climate change as we begin to rebuild our economies.
And all this while endeavouring to ensure the continued mental wellbeing of both clients and staff.
Communication is key and industries across the board have experienced a huge take-up in the technologies that enable us to do this.
While this has also accentuated the need for constant review of cyber security measures, the beneficial outcome is that we are, en-masse and internationally, talking like never before.
To illustrate this, in March Zoom stated that daily users had spiked to 200m, up from 10m in December.
New challenges bring new innovations. Economically and personally, this crisis has taken a heavy toll.
This is likely to change conventional wisdom about how we live and work and shift the debate about what our world will look like as we recover from the impact of Covid-19.
To address this, in a major departure from our previous formats, Pimfa will be using a leading tech provider in the world of virtual events to deliver our first Virtual Festival.
Over two days on June 3 and 4, free for members and with full CPD accreditation, attendees will feel as if they are entering a real-life venue, complete with networking lounges, a lobby, an auditorium and a virtual exhibition hall.
This platform allows attendees to watch presentations live and to interact with speakers through real-time Q&A and, for those who are not able to attend live, they will be able to stream all of the content on demand.
In the virtual exhibition hall, attendees will have the opportunity to visit partner booths where they can download an array of thought leadership content, watch videos and interact with the booth representatives via live chat.
Each attendee will have their very own swag bag, enabling them to fill it full of relevant and interesting content, which they can then email to themselves.
In the networking lounge attendees will have the opportunity to network with each other via live chat, exchange ideas and contact details if they wish to do so.
In the midst of the current confusion and uncertainty, our primary aims in delivering this event are – through informed debate and a sharing of ideas in a safe, virtual environment – to gain clarity as to what the future should look like, define the methods of achieving that and to add genuine value for savers, the industry and the economy as a whole.
We look forward to seeing you at Virtual Fest, and stay safe.
Liz Field is chief executive of Pimfa
