Published 22 Jan 2018, Luke Jeffs, Global Custodian
The adoption of new technologies such as blockchain may take longer than some people think and “generally take time to move from one stage to the next”, according to the head of trade body ISITC Europe.
Speaking ahead of the ISITC Europe’s annual meeting on Thursday, Nigel Solkhon, the chief executive officer of the trade association, said new technologies such as distributed ledger, artificial intelligence and robo-advisory tools are creating a new industry model.
Solkhon, who is also a regional head and director of execution to custody services at Citigroup, said technologies are evolving quickly but deployment may take longer.
“The adoption of new models can be seen to have three key adoption stages: strategic drive to new technology and models by the boards of the major players; standard practices for deployment through collaboration; and of course investment in new infrastructures and processes. These all have to be aligned and generally take time to move from one stage to the next.”
Solkhon said he sees ISITC Europe providing “a platform for common areas of interest to be shared and of course discussed”.
He added: “New capital raising products such as initial coin offerings, the evolution and adoption of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) not only by professional funds but retail investors is changing investor appetite for risk and product choice.
“But the most debated difference is distributed ledger technology and components such as smart contracts and how these technologies will be implemented and how long and much it will cost to move to the new models being built.”
Futures trade body the Futures Industry Association said last week blockchain is a case of “evolution rather than revolution”.
ISITC Europe, which looks at operational and technological challenges facing the financial services industry, hosts its Annual General Meeting in London on Thursday January 25.
The event, titled “the Birth of a new Industry Model”, brings together some of the industry’s top experts to discuss themes such as the changing needs of investors, what is the future of research and the impact of Brexit on the capital markets.
Kay Swinburne, the member of European Parliament and member of the Economic and Monetary Affairs committee, will also give an update on European regulatory issues less than a month into the Mifid II regime.
Speaking ahead of the AGM, Solkhon added: “It would appear that the change has continued to be constant but areas such as regulation, market change and technology has shifted gear over the past five years. This week we are looking at how the future of investment risk and products are changing with the new generation of investors today.”
Posted on
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.