Against a backdrop of continuous regulatory change, the drive towards lower operating costs, deeper member engagement and better member outcomes is creating new challenges for super funds. The ability to meet these challenges and keep a lid on costs and risks will require funds to consider alternative administration options. John Burke reports.

The status quo

Reflecting on another conversation at last week’s conference, there were lots of discussions about why the mobile wallet wars were lost.  No one’s won the mobile wallet war yet, not even Apple, but it is there to be won.  In fact I wondered why it took a firm like Apple to take up the mantra and aim for this crown – not forgetting WeChat, Alipay and others – and realised it’s because no one has yet worked out what a mobile wallet is for.

Defining what BCBS 239 compliance looks like remains clouded in mystery. Tough ‘show and tell’ discussions rage on between banks and regulators as to what absolutely must be done to meet the requirements of the principles. But what if it could all be rolled up into a simple litmus test? One that could be presented to your board as being a good, solid marker as to how close your bank realistically is?

When it comes to innovation in financial services, the payments sector is leading the way. The widespread adoption of new technologies has completely changed the way we are able to make payments – from NFC and contactless cards to Pingit and mobile wallets. Recent research from Pinsent Masons suggests Paypal poses a bigger threat to the high street giants than challenger banks. As customers increasingly embrace these new methods, could banks be well placed to capitalise on payments transformation?

DealHub (Option Computers Ltd) announced today that its FX post trade connectivity platform has been deployed at Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank (Crédit Agricole CIB).  DealHub’s modular platform combines the firm’s comprehensive market connectivity with flexible, rules based trade routing and processing, to provide Crédit Agricole CIB with a unified backbone for Straight Through Processing (STP), compliance and post trade workflow automation in their foreign exchange business.

OptionsCity Software, a global provider of electronic trading solutions for professional futures and options traders, and Nasdaq today announced that OptionsCity is a preferred independent software vendor for Nasdaq Futures (NFX), the exchange group’s U.S. based designated contract market (DCM). Through NFX, Nasdaq will expand its commodities business with futures and options on key energy benchmarks including oil, natural gas and U.S. power, which will launch in 2015.

As new financial technology develops, it is increasing the number of global opportunities open to asset managers. With each improvement in connectivity, new regions around the world become potential customers and partners.

Buy-side firms are scanning wider horizons for investment opportunities as well as prospective clients. Market conditions in recent years, which have seen artificially low rates and volatile equity performance, are leading investment managers to consider other options to achieve the returns they need, such as emerging market equity and fixed income.