The number of people working across the global capital markets will fall by almost a fifth in the coming decade as a wave of artificial intelligence and automation hits the industry, according to estimates from consultancy Opimas.

Headcount at capital markets institutions will decrease by some 400,000 to 1.7 million between now and 2030, Opimas said in its Workforce of the Future report, with the investment industry set to be the hardest hit as it battles both the rise of new technologies and falling fees.