Capital markets organizations in January 2025 earnings calls, news articles, and press releases highlighted how they are navigating the impacts of various market forces and new technologies. Below are some high-level takeaways that provide a glimpse into industry trends:
Diversified trading
Institutions increasingly looked to global trading platform Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) last month to hedge their U.S. investments and seek opportunities globally. In fact, ICE experienced record trading volumes in January 2025, largely fueled by market volatility and economic uncertainty with the change in the federal administration. Not only was there a significant demand for investment hedging instruments, but also a surge in trade volume for commodities such as energy, crude oil and natural gas due to ongoing geopolitical instability.
The demand for risk management solutions, through instruments such as interest rate derivatives and equity options, will continue to be a cornerstone for 2025 as organizations navigate market uncertainties while also protecting their existing investments.
Client engagement
One major brokerage reported strong client engagement and operational efficiencies, demonstrated by daily average revenue trades and other monthly metrics. The organization’s emphasis on the client interface throughout its operations positions it to attract and retain a diverse client base, giving it a leading edge among broker-dealers.
This example of positive client engagement might indicate that organizations are looking to build trust and brand loyalty with their customers to become an end-to-end service provider for all their customers’ financial needs.
Read more financial services industry insights from RSM.
Artificial intelligence and technology upgrades
LPL Financial continued to provide updates on key developments in artificial intelligence. The organization has invested over $500 million in technology innovation over the past year, allowing it to deploy AI-powered tools to their advisors. These solutions provide insights into client activity and additional opportunities for client engagement. Additionally, these tools help with compliance and regulatory risk management, which is foundational for organizations engaging in the heavily regulated financial services space.
One investment bank provided an update about implementing AI to enhance their trade operations; the organization has rolled out a generative AI assistant to 10,000 employees and plans to make it available to all employees by the end of the year. The upgraded system will leverage machine learning to analyze market-data in real time to optimize trading strategies and ultimately improve decision-making in trading. That would also boost efficiency and reduce operating costs among the organization’s bankers, traders and asset managers.
From a broader industry perspective, as organizations continue to deploy artificial intelligence, it is important that they do not lose sight of effective data management practices. To scale artificial intelligence solutions, organizations must design a process to adequately classify and manage the entirety of their data ecosystem.
The takeaway: Embracing this transformative phase
The financial services industry is in a transformative phase, as shown by these developments in risk management, client engagement, technology and artificial intelligence upgrades. Organizations that embrace these trends will position themselves as leaders in the financial services space and will continue to drive growth. It is imperative that organizations remain on the forefront of these trends to not only remain competitive, but to deliver value to their customers.
