Financial services have become concentrated in a handful of behemoths, a smattering of midsize firms, and a host of small, specialized providers. New technologies and alternative providers may be on the verge of disrupting the marketplace. The competition for your customers' attention and business is intense. In this environment of hypercompetition, ubiquitous availability, and product commoditization, every provider needs a comprehensive map of the marketplace (context) to acquire market share.

The MacroMonitor adds insights to the conversation by combining long-term consumer trends with external economic change. This slide presentation contains a dozen long-term financial-industry trends about topics of concern to providers: economic indicators, credit-card debt, private-sector retirement plans, and life insurance.