The Rise of Fractional Trading in Singapore: Empowering Retail Investors In recent years, fractional trading has revolutionized the investment landscape, making it more accessible and flexible for retail investors. This trend has gained significant momentum globally, including in Singapore. Let’s explore the rise of fractional trading and its impact on investors in the Lion City. What Is Fractional Trading? Fractional trading allows investors to own less than one whole share of a company…

The Run to ZERO: A Deep Dive into Shorter Settlement Cycles Pretext: The architecture of financial markets is fundamentally dependent on the efficiency and timing of its settlement cycles—the process that completes transactions through the exchange of securities and cash post-trade execution. Historically, these cycles ranged from a few days to longer, with a move from T+3 to T+2 being a significant shift in markets like the US. However, with the advent of technological advancements and changes…

Model B Wealth Management: A Rising Trend in the UK Model B clearing is an old arrangement that allows executing brokers to give up trades on the London Stock Exchange to a clearing member for settlement. This way, the executing brokers can outsource counterparty risk and focus on their core competencies. However, Model B clearing has evolved over time to offer more than just risk management. It has become a comprehensive service that can help wealth managers navigate the changing future of the…

Empowering Consumers New Duty Regulations, the Impact on the Insurance Industry, and the Tech Revolution In today's digital age, consumers wield unprecedented power and influence, often driving market changes through their choices and demands. Recognising this, governments and regulatory bodies are increasingly enacting new Consumer Duty regulations to protect and empower individuals. Consumer Duty regulations encompass a broad range of laws and standards aimed at safeguarding the rights and…

Automating Post Trade Settlement Processes with RPA: Benefits and Use Cases Introduction In today’s fast-paced business world, companies are always looking for ways to improve their efficiency and reduce costs. One area where this is particularly important is in the back office, where many of the routine tasks that keep a business running are performed. One technology that has emerged as a powerful tool for improving back-office operations is Robotic Process Automation (RPA). In this article…

Time to break the unbroken In the constantly evolving landscape of financial services, it's easy to focus on the glamour of front-office activities: trading, investment strategies, and client engagement. However, the often-overlooked back-office operations form the backbone of any financial institution, and their efficiency can profoundly impact front-office returns. In this article, I explain the concept of back-office technology reform, emphasizing how upgrading these critical systems can…

Shaping the Future of Broking: T+0 Settlement and Contemi Nova's Role in Post-Trade Processing The world of finance is undergoing a significant transformation, driven by technological advancements and the need for speed and efficiency. Among the key developments in post-trade processing, T+0 settlement is emerging as a game-changer. In this article, we explore the concept of T+0 settlement and how Contemi Nova Post Trade is playing a pivotal role in ushering in this new era of instantaneous…

Daniel Thafvelin, Group CEO, Contemi Solutions Hanh Nguyen, Human Resource Manager, Contemi Solutions Vietnam Enhancing Social Mobility: A Software Company’s Pursuit In today’s rapidly evolving world, Social Mobility is a crucial issue that demands attention across various industries, including insurance. For software companies, delivering innovative solutions to the insurance sector presents an unparalleled opportunity to contribute to societal change. As a software company with employees…

Fractional Trading: Malaysia's Exciting Step Forward in Investing The end of 2023 will mark a pivotal moment in Malaysia's stock market, with the government's recent announcement to unveil fractional trading. The honourable Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Dato' Seri Anwar bin Ibrahim, announced on July 27th, 2023, that his government will allow trading of smaller share lots and fractional shares making investments affordable. "There will be more retail investors out there who can afford…

The power of ecosystems in the insurance industry An overview of the ecosystem in the insurance industry, trends shaping it, use cases and the strategies going forward. Traditional incumbents, collaboration and competition The livestock auction at Seljord in Telemark, Norway is an old school meeting place, gathering 80,000 visitors once a year. This is a tradition that goes back a hundred years. Even if the main attraction is animals, you can find a variety of merchandise and service providers…

Unleashing the power of innovation in financial services My first memory related to automation is from a school excursion, going to the local shipyard in my hometown, Harstad, Norway. They had some automated steel plate cutters run by a punched card device made by Kongsberg Weapon Factory, enabling any specific shape. We learned that this was safer, faster, and more precise than a manual operation. During the same time, I had the opportunity to work in my uncle’s lemonade factory during school…

AI, ML, RPA in post-trade processing … Sure, they work, but how do we reap operational benefits? Host - Posttrade360° Panellists Nathalie Zeghmouli, Business Development Director, Europe, Contemi Solutions Duncan Cooper, Head of OMNI Digital Services, EMEA and APAC, BNY Mellon Moderator: Virginie O’Shea, CEO & Founder, Firebrand Research The session took place at the PostTrade360 Stockholm Conference for the panel titled “Expanding the uses of AI, ML, RPA to include post-trade functions” to…

5 Areas Family Offices Can Use Technology to Become the Choice of Multi-Generation Family Clients The great wealth transfer and digitalisation pose an interesting challenge for family offices- how to manage operations to meet the expectations of sophisticated, multi-generation families, where each stakeholder might have vastly different expectations. A recent survey found that - 37% of family offices said managing the multi-generation family clients is one of their biggest issues and challenges…

Are complex corporate actions stunting your growth? Over 4 million corporate actions are processed per year, growing by 12% per year on average. Corporate Actions: they are integral, essential, and increasingly a bar to growth. The risks and costs associated with manual corporate actions discussed previously, illustrate the need for firms to revisit their corporate action processing to ensure it is appropriate for the current – and future - environment. We have seen significant capital…

Delivering Great Client Experiences in Unsettling Times View it in the PDF! Contemi Solutions won three awards at the 2021 WealthTech Asia Awards, hosted by WealthBriefing. Tom Burroughes, Group Editor at WealthBriefing Asia, talks to Gaurav Mehta, Executive Director- Global Head of Sales at Contemi, about Contemi’s hat trick win, award-winning qualities and how it intends to remain on the front foot. What has particularly marked you out for success in this category? In the last year, more than…

The Omnichannel Experience- Creating harmony across Wealth Management We thrive in a world of high-speed scrolling and swiping. Investors today have access to monumental amounts of information, but time is a huge constraint. In effect, “mobile” provides a perfect solution to offer ease of access and keep customers connected from anywhere at any time. Wealth managers in the Asia Pacific must focus on building omni-channel capabilities. It enhances advisor efficiency and the client journey…

The Costs of Corporate Actions Inaction Corporate actions processing has long been a byword for a manual, inefficient, and risk-prone function in the securities industry. While technology vendors have made great strides in overcoming the challenges of processing corporate actions, firms have defied the general trend toward automation, and rates of STP have remained stubbornly low. Mandatory events are often well automated, with higher STP rates. However, event complexity, data inconsistency…

Corporate actions - You are not alone…but should you be? 73% of the industry think corporate actions are a challenge. If you are one of the 73% you are not alone. If you look around, the chances are that you will see most of your industry peers here. 32% of firms still process more than 50% of their corporate actions manually- illustrating the extent to which day-to-day operations remain heavily contingent on human intervention. This is not surprising. Corporate action processing is not very…

The New Customer Relationship in Wealth Management I am of a generation who can remember the time before you could take your smart phone from your pocket, access an app and immediately see your bank account balances, make a payment or access additional services...whilst walking the dog! Why is this important? Because, as a wealth manager, if you do not offer me similar, immediate access to information and services to those I am now familiar with, it is unlikely that I will become one of your…

Digital Client Onboarding: The Talk of The Town Wealth Management and Private Banking companies are making significant investments to attract new customers. The first real test comes during the customer onboarding process as this journey is the key to defining future customer relationships. Most financial services firms struggle with the basics of their onboarding processes and are unable to set the tone for the right and profitable customer relationship. The solution as we see it is a fast…

Twelve powerful wealth management trends. Twelve opportunities in 2021. Are you ready? After a turbulent year businesses are looking for some bulletproof guidance and inspiration, wealth management is no exception. There is no doubt that the Covid-19 has changed the world for ever, but let's not make the pandemic a scapegoat for the woes of asset and wealth management organisations. Prior to the pandemic, the wealth management sector was facing multifaceted challenges arising from the digital…

Breaking Down the Impact of COVID-19 on Financial Services As much of a calamity as COVID-19 has been for the world from a health perspective, it has also had a serious impact on the financial services industry. Given what amounted to a global recession during the summer, it’s hardly a surprise to point this out. However, as we near the end of 2020 and look ahead to a year in which we hope to see meaningful recovery, it’s worth looking past the general assertion that COVID-19 has had an…

Where have all the robos gone? Four years ago, and continuing until very recently, robo advisory was all the rage. It was impossible to go to any wealth conference without at least one of the speakers expounding the virtues of the technology revolution and how it was going to disrupt ‘established wealth management’. Viewing the industry today, I feel a little cheated… on the surface nothing seems to have changed! So, I decided to have a closer look under the surface. Build it and they will come…

Is it time for an Agile Revolution in Financial Services? Now more than ever, financial services institutions need to move from legacy operational processes and compete with the fast-moving digital world, by putting a digital customer experience at the centre of their digital transformation game. In this article, we talk about why agile is key to Financial Institutions (FIs) successful digital transformation journey. Current Industry Scenario The rising demand of digital and convenience in…

Decoding Outsourcing Within the Insurance Industry Outsourcing, or the use of external capabilities, is something that management often considers; What parts of my organization can be outsourced, and what to keep in-house? The question that often arises is, “will this system or process give me a cost advantage if it’s outsourced?” If the answer is yes, then they move the operation outside of the organization. Unfortunately, the decision is not that simple. What is Outsourcing? Let’s first start…

Democratisation of Wealth Management – What Lies Ahead? The democratisation of wealth management has been well underway for the past few years. With the global economic downturn and the proliferation of digital solutions, has the wealth management finally reached the inflection point to take the democratisation of Wealth Management to the next level? For years, investments into markets and complex products used to be the playground of High Net Worth Individuals (HNWIs). This has changed in the…

Starting at Contemi UI/UX Design Team: An insight from Caitlin Boyland I started out learning how UI/UX currently exists at Contemi Solutions — Here I share my experiences of joining Contemi as a masters graduate and how I am now learning to steer the design helm. Hi, I’m Caitlin I’m a multi-disciplinary designer with degrees in Industrial Design and Technology (BA) & User Experience Design (MA). I have studied different design disciplines to develop the skills to create holistic product and…

What are the Key Strategies and Tools to help Wealth Management Through the Coronavirus Pandemic? The wealth management sector is facing unprecedented challenges due to the outbreak of the global pandemic. As the coronavirus spreads, wealth managers’ business continuity plans need to include more of digital tools and strategies. It is precisely in this crisis situation, where remote working, or the practice of working for an extended period outside the formal office is growing steadily in…

Beyond the headlines: FCA scraps mifid 10% letter rule You may have read the headline that the MiFID II regulation around 10% drop has been scrapped and assumed you can take a rest but not all is as it seems. As Steve Martin, Senior Solutions Consultant at Contemi says, today, more than ever, we need to read beyond the headlines and double check our facts before taking action. As has been demonstrated with the spread of unresearched information around COVID 19, this can have dangerous…

Coronavirus Survival Guide For Wealth Managers The paradigm shift brought about by coronavirus is forcing the wealth management industry to formulate strategies and come up with better tools and solutions to survive in this crisis. Sustaining investor confidence, client retention and business survival should be the immediate priority for wealth managers in this coronavirus world. While the world is still fighting the virus, one major lessons this disease has taught us that the digitalisation is…

Are Corporate Actions Being Treated Fairly? The relationship between the financial markets and the investor is quietly, but fundamentally, changing. A series of regulatory changes has or will require clients to be treated fairly (TCF), ensure they are better informed (MiFID II), and fully encouraged to participate in the long-term sustainability of the assets they own (SRD II). Each of these initiatives has a clear implication to the way organisations approach both the risks and processes…

Top Three Trends in Wealth Management for 2020 Wealth management is transforming faster than most professionals realize because the industry’s customer base is changing. Three trends are driving a paradigm shift in wealth management that will become clear in 2020. The most visible trends are the rise of intergenerational wealth, and the growing number of high-net worth women. For example, the HNWI (old money) will transfer $68 trillion to younger heirs worldwide over the next 25 years. The…

Why Wealth Managers Need Effective Client Onboarding Many wealth managers are losing money because they do not understand client onboarding. Unfortunately, onboarding done wrong will drive clients away; because the onboarding process begins the moment, a prospect becomes a client. This failure drives clients away because onboarding is the formal process of bringing a customer into a platform. Unfortunately, many wealth managers make the mistake of turning the client onboarding process over to…

Technology threatens the survival of Asian family businesses Disruptive technology is the greatest threat and biggest opportunity for Asian family businesses. Technologies ranging from robotics to cryptocurrency to machine learning are reshaping almost all markets. For instance, cryptocurrency and mobile payments could soon make paper currency a thing of the past. Meanwhile, artificial intelligence, 3D printing, and robotics could make it possible for many companies to manufacture components…

Resolving the Corporate Actions Paradox -The Case for Automation “Corporate actions continue to be an area of complexity, manual processing and high risk” according to the interim results of research into the corporate actions processing, conducted by the wealth management consultancy, Compeer. Even as corporate action volumes appear to increase each year (with larger participants processing in excess of 40,000 dividends and 9,000 elections last year), there is a general perception in the market…

Compliance – Should Smaller Firms Ask the Question, 'Why Bother'? In the wake of another whopping FCA fine of £34.3m to Goldman Sachs last week, following the £27.6m UBS fine, are the bigger players ignoring the regulations? MiFID and MiFID II introduced more regulatory overheads to firms in the UK, as well as the rest of Europe. Major projects have been set up and delivered on with overall costs amounting to billions - and some firms have been lost along the way, unable to make ends meet as a…

Is it Time to Revisit the Mature, Manual Processing of Corporate Actions? The management of corporate actions is an old problem. It is, however, still a major challenge and an area of significant risk for many wealth managers who have not invested in automation. Historically, cost has been the issue. The high cost of systems to automate corporate action processing made them economically unsustainable for medium and small organisations. Additionally, most back office systems provided some form of…

Will Cost Disclosure Be The 'Halloween' of MIFID II? Just when wealth managers thought that they could draw a sigh of relief, knowing that their MiFID II obligations were, if not a thing of the past, at least a part of business as usual, a sense of foreboding is once again creeping into the collective consciousness of wealth management firms. The European Union's consumer protection regulation has radically changed the way costs and charges are presented for funds and this may well prove to be…

Transitioning Our Wealth Intelligence (WIN) Platform from On-Premise to SaaS on Amazon Web Services (AWS) in Partnership with Intelisecure & Infradata As we transition our Wealth Intelligence platform from on-premise to SAAS (software as a service) into the Amazon Web services (AWS), we have partnered with Intelisecure and Infradata to ensure scalability, security and reliability. Intelisecure will be providing vulnerability management, Pen testing and SIEM services on the new WIN platform. With…

Wealth Intelligence (WIN) Platform Launch in Detail In this article, Matt Gunnell, our Product Manager, Wealth Management Solutions talks about the recently launched Wealth Intelligence (WIN) Platform in detail (what it is, what we have done so far & what we have planned). Wealth Intelligence (WIN) Platform Overview In March 2018, we launched our new Wealth Intelligence (WIN) platform unleashing a host of new modules whilst uniting many of its award-winning wealth management solutions into one…

Wealth Management Challenges: Client Retention in the Digital Age There is a growing awareness in wealth management circles concerning the need for wealth managers and financial advisors to preserve the investment assets that they currently manage, as they are passed to the next generation. Obviously, some of those assets will shift into pension drawdown plans to cover day-to-day living expenses, but there will remain a sizeable proportion of estates (particularly among high net worth…

ESMA grants last-minute relief on LEI requirements under MiFID II – what firms need to know On December 20, 2017 the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) issued a statement to support the smooth implementation of Legal Entity Identifiers (LEI) requirements under the Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation (MiFIR). Concerns raised by Market Participants around obtaining LEIs under MiFID II Many investment firms and trading venues had raised concerns that they will not be able to…

MiFID II The Final Countdown I attended the PIMFA MiFID II Conference on Tuesday 24th October, and it was pleasing to hear some very positive and complimentary feedback from a number of clients about our software solution, the advice and support we have provided and our whole MiFID II delivery. It was surprising and worrying to hear some of the comments expressed by some speakers and panel members, as well as questions from the floor during the networking breaks. Even after Stephen Hanks from…

MiFID II: Wealth Managers, Are you ready for 3rd January 2018? In June, the European Commission announced the application date of MiFID II and MiFIR had been delayed by one year to 3rd January 2018. The news was greeted by many with a huge sigh of relief. Plenty of people had been warning that it would be impossible for firms to be ready for such all-encompassing and far reaching changes by the end of 2016. When the delay was announced 2018 seem someway off. As we approach the end of 2016, it's…