IBS Journal April 2016


TSAM Europe Conference & Expo 2016 round-up


Handling the changing landscape of the financial industry was an overriding theme at this year’s TSAM Europe Conference in London. David Wood, Chair of the London Futurists, opened proceedings by rather ominously stating that “great companies, after long periods of success, frequently fail to handle disruption”. The more that technology improves, he told delegates, the more education improves alongside it. The acceleration of this feedback cycle sends disruption into overdrive. “We owe it to our companies, our


shareholders and ourselves to be more sys- tematic and thoughtful in identifying the trends that might impact our businesses,” Wood announced as he closed his talk, not- ing that “decentralisation is the future”. Disruption is indeed changing the way


that trades are made and assets are man- aged, Vincent Dessard, Senior Regulatory Policy Advisor at EFAMA, agreed in a later panel. Despite regulators trying to keep a handle on things, it’s hard without a glob- al picture.


“Nobody sat together from the begin-


ning to create a development plan,” he said. We have so many legislative pieces [com- bined] with a strong goodwill approach but it is still not drawn into one global picture – the absence of that picture is an unintend- ed consequence.” Simon Bland, Director and Strategic


Adviser on Policy Issues at the Prudential Regulation Authority, Bank of England, not- ed that regulators are working “very hard” to make sure that disruption doesn’t affect the industry. “Regulators are far more joined up than they used to be,” he told the panel’s audience. “We do care about its impact in the industry. The bad news is we’re still in silos and what comes up in banking regula- tion might be applied without the changes needed for investment managers.” Angus Canvin, Senior Advisor of Reg-


ulatory Affairs at the Investment Associa- tion, stated that although it can seem like there is a “tsunami of regulation”, banks are beginning to think about what the cumula- tive impact might be.


On the floor IBS Journal caught up with SS&C


Technologies and Broadridge, who were 16


exhibiting at TSAM. Richard Hutton, Busi- ness Development Manager for SS&C, was excited to tell us about how the company is pushing ahead with its acquisitive strat- egies.


“100% there are more acquisitions on


the way,” he said, though he was unwilling to name them. “We’re also making steps to fully integrate Advent [which it acquired for $2.7 billion in 2015] and ensuring we keep getting the backing from banks around the globe.” “There’s something always in the pipe-


line,” said Broadridge Director of Sales in EMEA, Mark Weller. The firm will continue its acquisition plans and will also be look- ing further into blockchain technology, having invested in Digital Asset Holdings in February this year.


Panelling Later panels at the event focused on


how businesses might be able to bet- ter align their strategy and data manage- ment. Data management strategies have been put to the test by regulation, said Paul McIness, Head of Enterprise Data Manage- ment, Eagle Investment Systems. “Firms are still struggling with data stuck in silos” and its relative poor quality. Outsourcing data services should be


the way of the future, he continued, before stating that he didn’t know one US-based funds company that retains its data man- agement services in-house. At the same time, he admitted, the


creation of the role of Chief Data Officer in many companies indicates how the sector’s companies are waking up to the idea of having someone controlling and initiating data management. Having a strategy in place is only


enough if a company knows what direction it is going in, concluded Tim Wickens, Glob- al Head of Funds Credit, Lloyds Commercial Bank in an earlier panel. Everyone needs to understand their goals. The mood around the expo was one of optimism, with many mentions of disrup- tion being a possible agent in the market. Bitcoin and blockchain, as they are want to do at most FinTech conferences, took cen- tre stage in many minds. The asset manage- ment and funds sphere, like every sector in the industry, seems to be ever looking out-


© IBS Intelligence 2016 www.ibsintelligence.com


wards for the next big movers and shakers. Alex Hamilton


In brief


The State Bank of India (SBI) has taken talk of ‘mobile money’ literally and introduced its new ATM on wheels. The ATM, mounted in a vehicle, will travel from place to place in order to suit public needs and arrive in areas that consumers may find themselves needing cash, like markets, hospitals and shopping areas. It is being introduced in the city


of Madurai, which has around 750 ATMs in total in its greater metropol- itan area. It will be especially useful, it is believed, for people visiting the temple quarters. The ATM will also be parked outside factories and ware- houses on company pay days in order to allow workers to withdraw money instantly on stepping out from work. “The idea is that a consumer need not go in search of the ATM and instead the kiosk would be there at his/her doorsteps,” says SBI General Manager G. Ravindranath. He adds that the new initiative is aimed at helping all types of customers. State Bank of India is the first


in the country to start this kind of initiative, the company states, and it is looking to aid “the floating popula- tion” of the city of Madurai as much as possible with such innovations. Scott Thompson


news


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