Chris Ford, who became global head of investments at Towers Watson in February, after leading the firm’s London-based European business for three years, is a self-confessed tech geek. This doesn’t just mean handing out iPads for delegates at Towers Watson events. It also feeds into the strategic advice his firm is giving to its clients: pension funds and other institutions that control more than $2 trillion between them.

Ford believes the increasing automation of the markets means that the finance industry should be able to do a lot more for these kinds of investors, with a lot less.