With mountains of market data, historical prices, and transactions data stored in disparate systems, securities and investment firms are shifting from a focus on collecting data to extracting value from it.

A December 2019 paper by capital markets consultancy GreySpark Partners examined the potential for buy-side and sell-side firms to transform large quantities of big data into actionable intelligence – producing what is known as ‘smart data – through specialized analytics.

Open Banking has fundamentally changed the game for all of us in the banking and financial services sector. With shifts involving customer data, naturally there have been concerns as organisations transform, from how they can get a sufficient return, to the need for security, to the need to adhere to the new regulations. However, Open Banking has been a positive force, providing improved service, especially regarding information, for customers and greater potential for revenue for service providers.

In a recent report, the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF) and the World Economic Forum (WEF) found that rather than observing AI as a single instrument for blanket application across the industry, AI can be viewed as a toolkit that is being used to tinker and build services in an abundance of ways to achieve a variety of objectives.

7-Eleven, Inc. is pushing the technological envelope once again, testing a cashierless store at its corporate headquarters, in Irving, Texas.

Saxo Bank, the leading fintech specialist focused on multi-asset trading and investment, today announces the appointment of Stig Christensen as Chief Sales Officer. Stig has served as Chief Human Resources Officer at Saxo Bank since 2016 and will continue to hold this position as well until a permanent replacement is found.  His appointment follows the departure of Damian Bunce who has stepped down as Chief Commercial Officer.

Kim Fournais, founder and CEO, commented:

Hg, Europe’s leading software investor, today announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire stakes from Keensight Capital and Pléiade Venture in smartTrade Technologies (“smartTrade”), a leader in multi-asset electronic trading solutions, headquartered in Aix-en-Provence, France.  David VINCENT, CEO & co-Founder, and the smartTrade management team will remain invested in the business alongside Hg.