The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is forcing financial services companies to make a fundamental strategic choice that will define their future in this AI-first world:

Are you building the stage or performing on it?

As MCP adoption accelerates across the industry, we're witnessing a critical bifurcation. Companies must decide whether they're going to be an MCP Client or an MCP Server, and this decision will fundamentally shape their business model, competitive positioning, and path to market dominance.

The great divide: MCP Client vs MCP Server

MCP Client: Building the Foundation

They focus on creating the interfaces, user experiences, and underlying systems that enable AI interactions. Think of them as the architects of the AI-powered financial ecosystem.

MCP Clients are the infrastructure players.

• Own the user interface and experience

• Control the infrastructure and orchestration layer

• Integrate multiple data sources and tools

• Focus on platform scalability and reliability

• Invest heavily in UI/UX and system architecture

The Client advantage: When you control the client layer, you own the relationship with the end user. You decide which tools get surfaced, how data is presented, and ultimately how decisions get made. In financial services, this translates to enormous influence over trading decisions, investment strategies, and risk management processes.

OpenBB falls squarely in this category, alongside Claude, ChatGPT, and other financial AI chat interfaces. But so do platforms like Replit and Cursor – essentially any product that empowers creation and interaction. At OpenBB, we see ourselves as that critical bridge between data and AI through intuitive UI and workflows, where MCP Servers become another seamless way for data to flow through our interface.

MCP Server: Powering the Engine

They focus on providing specialized capabilities, datasets, and domain expertise that clients can leverage through standardized protocols.

MCP Servers are the data and tools specialists.

• Deep specialization in specific data domains

• Focus on tool development and API optimization

• Emphasis on data quality, accuracy, and coverage

• Building for integration rather than end-user interaction

• Competing on the quality and uniqueness of their offerings

The Server advantage: Specialized servers can become indispensable by providing unique, high-quality data or capabilities that multiple clients depend on. Think market data feeds, compliance tools, or proprietary analytics engines.

S&P Global, FactSet, and Snowflake dominate this domain - they're the engine room powering the financial ecosystem.

The Strategic Implications

For MCP Clients: The high-stakes, high-reward path

Choosing the client path means betting on your ability to create the best user experience and orchestrate the most valuable ecosystem. The market opportunity is massive - you're essentially competing to become the "operating system" for AI-powered finance.

The upside is enormous: Control the client, and you control how the entire ecosystem gets monetized. You capture value from every interaction, every decision, and every workflow.

But the challenges are significant:

• Requires massive upfront investment in infrastructure

• Complex technical challenges around integration and orchestration

• Must maintain relationships with numerous server providers

• User acquisition and retention in a crowded market

• Continuous innovation pressure to stay ahead of competitors

Success depends on differentiation: In a client-first world, your positioning becomes critical. Are you the platform for institutional traders? Wealth managers? Risk analysts? Do you provide better insights on server data than competitors? Are you more secure? Do you enable on-premise deployment? Can you integrate with firms' existing workflows? Your answers determine your survival.

For MCP Servers: The specialization game

Choosing the server path means focusing on what you do best and offering superior data and tools for integration into multiple client ecosystems. You become a crucial piece of a larger puzzle rather than trying to solve the entire equation yourself. Your success depends on attaching to the best MCP clients – they're your distribution window.

The benefits include:

• Lower barrier to entry and faster time to market

• Ability to focus resources on core competencies

• Multiple revenue streams through various client integrations

• Less direct competition with big tech platforms

But the competitive landscape is brutal:

• Intense competition with numerous specialized providers

• Commoditization risk as protocols standardize

• Dependence on client platforms for distribution

• Constant pressure to prove unique value

The monopoly advantage: Large, established players have significant advantages in the server game. Their brand recognition, existing distribution channels, and resource advantages make it difficult for smaller players to compete on equal footing.

Why you can’t play both sides

Many financial companies are tempted to hedge their bets by building both client and server capabilities. For years, they have:

• S&P has a data business and CapIQ

• FactSet has a data business and FactSet Workstation

• LSEG has a data business and LSEG Workspace

You get the gist.

My opinion? These firms will evolve to be data businesses only – but I'll write about that in another post. While they'll likely try approaching this problem from both sides (there's money to be made on both), this approach is fundamentally flawed. Here's why:

1. Conflicting incentives

As a client, you want to integrate the best servers available – even if they compete with your own server offerings. As a server, you want maximum distribution – even through clients that compete with your own platform. These incentives directly conflict.

2. Resource dilution

Building world-class client experiences requires completely different investments than creating best-in-class server capabilities. Trying to do both means neither gets the focus and resources needed to truly excel.

3. Market perception

Clients may hesitate to depend on servers from companies that also compete with them at the platform level. Similarly, end users might question whether a client platform is truly optimized when the company has competing interests in promoting their own server capabilities.

4. Innovation Bottlenecks

The rapid pace of AI advancement demands focus. Companies trying to innovate on both fronts often find themselves behind specialized competitors who can move faster and iterate more quickly.

The moment of truth

The MCP ecosystem is still emerging, giving companies a narrow window to make this strategic decision and commit fully to their chosen path. Those who try to straddle both worlds will find themselves outmaneuvered by focused competitors who have made clear strategic choices.

For established financial institutions: Your legacy systems and existing client relationships might naturally point you toward one path or the other. Don't fight this, lean into your strengths.

For fintech startups: Your decision here will define your entire business model, funding requirements, and competitive strategy. Choose wisely.

The question isn't whether MCP will transform financial services - it will.

The question is whether you'll be controlling the transformation as a Client or powering it as a Server.