SEI today announced a strategic partnership with Inovéa, a France-based, independent network of advisers and consultants specializing in insurance, real estate and finance products. Through this relationship, SEI launched and is managing six new European Strategic Portfolios (Euro SPs), each designed with a goals-based investment strategy. Inovéa will utilize SEI GoalPortal^®, a bespoke technology solution, and be the exclusive provider of SEI’s end-to-end goals-based process to the retail adviser market in France. This news was previously announced on SEI’s fourth-quarter 2018 earnings call.

“We are thrilled to work with Inovéa to provide a customized solution that begins with truly understanding their clients’ unique, interdependent needs and goals – financially and emotionally,” said Kevin Barr, Executive Vice President and Head of SEI’s Investment Management Unit and Asset Management Distribution Team. “As the first and only to offer our goals-based solution in France, Inovéa will utilize our process, investment strategy and technology to fundamentally change the way their advisers do business today.”

Inovéa will deepen its client relationships and evolve its advisory practice with the following:

• Discovery – SEI GoalPortal drives its proprietary discovery process, which organizes a comprehensive list of prioritized financial and life events, identifies risk exposure, and helps shape a client’s financial plan. GoalPortal features the award-winning SEI Discovery Board, a core instrument in helping individuals and families to articulate and prioritize their goals. SEI created a French version of GoalPortal, which is unique to Inovéa. 
• Proposals and Reporting – GoalPortal enables Inovéa to create custom, client-ready proposals and progress-to-goals reports, which monitor clients’ progress towards tangible and personal goals.
• Euro SPs – SEI designed a series of UCITS sub-funds, which are contained within SEI’s Global Assets Fund, domiciled in Ireland, and registered for retail sale in France with the Autorité des Marchés Financiers under the UCITS EU passporting regime.
• Training – SEI collaborated with Inovéa to execute a series of full-day training programs that transitioned and aligned Inovéa’s business model with SEI’s goals-based solution. More than 450 advisers participated in the training, which launched in five locations throughout France and the Caribbean over the course of one month. 

“Offering SEI’s goals-based approach and process as our sole solution will differentiate us, as we will be the only firm creating a lasting, intimate client experience while aligning investment strategies to our clients’ goals,” said Marc Rosticher, Co-Founder of Inovéa. “SEI’s dynamic solution will enable our advisers to engage our clients in an easy-to-use, interactive and collaborative process, as well as build client confidence that we are constructing portfolios that deliver on their future goals. We look forward to working with SEI to support our growth journey and gain a competitive advantage in our market.”

SEI’s goals-based client process provides advisers insight into the financial and non-financial aspects of their clients’ lives and enables them to uncover opportunities to offer clear, actionable and personalized advice. This process allows clients to communicate their concerns and goals, and advisers can customize portfolios that accommodate risk tolerance, maximize their ability to meet clients’ goals, and report meaningful and understandable financial insight for their clients. In addition to Inovéa, two other global SEI clients use GoalPortal to help end-investors identify and meet their investment needs and aspirations.

The Municipality of Bari has started up in collaboration with SIA – the leading European hi-tech company in the payment services and infrastructures sector - a project based on blockchain technology that aims to digitize the process of managing surety policies.

This is the first experiment in Italy of use of Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) relating to sureties in the public sector that will allow the Municipality of Bari to dematerialize the issuance process by banks, financial intermediaries, and insurance companies and certify the sureties unequivocally and irrevocably.

This innovative project will contribute, among other things, to reducing the processing times of the various phases, eliminating any manual errors and also preventing possible fraud by unauthorized parties related to the presentation of false documents.

The experiment will make use of the SIAchain technology infrastructure designed and implemented by SIA to support the development and implementation, in a secure and protected manner, of innovative applications based on blockchain, such as for example smart contracts able to verify agreements and contracts automatically.

"The project we have undertaken in collaboration with SIA will allow us to implement policies on the development of new technologies with significant progress in digitization and in the belief that, by increasing our experience in the use of DLT, we can support the work of PA bodies while triggering unprecedented technical and employment scenarios. We want this initiative to develop and generate value, both in the public and private sectors, and drive other public administration bodies to start up similar projects. Bari has already taken up the challenge of innovation", commented Antonio Decaro, Mayor of Bari.

"The launch of the blockchain project with the Municipality of Bari represents a milestone in the field of digital PA in Italy as it shows that local authorities have the potential to improve and simplify complex administrative procedures by investing in new technologies. SIA supports the public sector in this path of innovation with the conception and development of initiatives, in protected mode, which are part of a broader digitization program of the country. We strongly believe that the SIA chain infrastructure, thanks to its high performance and safety features, offers significant benefits", stated Nicola Cordone, CEO of SIA. 

Validis, a pioneer of financial data sharing and standardization technology,has extended its product line to include DataShare Reconciliation, a unique solution that automates the month-end reconciliation process for lenders offering Confidential Invoice Discounting (CID) to small and medium size businesses (SMBs).  

A key challenge facing lenders that offer CID is establishing an effective flow of accurate financial data to mitigate portfolio risk. The solution’s fully customizable, intelligent parameter setting and easy workflow management enhance a lender’s ability to match an SMB’s invoice schedule efficiently. 

DataShare Reconciliation drastically reduces the time it takes to prepare, submit and review invoice schedules at the end of the month. And, by rapidly sharing their financial data digitally with their lender, SMBs have seen time savings of as much as 90% over previous manual methods. 

“DataShare Reconciliation is a real game changer for lenders offering CID and the small businesses they lend to,” said Joel Curry, CEO of Validis. “We’re seeing preparation time for invoice reconciliation dropping by as much as 90%. That means SMBs can concentrate on running their businesses rather than preparing financial updates for their bank. For lenders, less time chasing their client’s financial data and manually matching invoices means they can focus more time on risk monitoring within their portfolio.” 

Portuguese fintech ebankIT will be live on the main stage at Finovate Europe, one of the world’s most prestigious events dedicated to financial technology, to showcase in less than 7 minutes and without using videos or slides, how banks and credit unions can significantly accelerate their omnichannel digital transformation process.

Before a crowd of over 500 representatives of the world’s most renowned financial institutions, ebankIT’s challenge lies on demonstrating how their digital banking platform can launch a Bank in under 7 minutes, with special focus on Mobile Banking.

“We can “connect” the core banking system to our platform in a short timeframe, because our integration layer is capable of adapting to the different core systems of different banks, thanks to the agile, flexible and highly customizable development architecture” says Renato Oliveira, ebankIT’s CEO, highlighting the recent implementation of a multilingual platform of internet banking in only three months, with Hypothekarbank Lenzburg (HBL) in Switzerland.

The CEO ensures that “by delivering cutting edge solutions to clients within the financial industry in over 20 countries, ebankIT has become one of the world leaders in the development of digital banking platforms. We continuously invest in research & development, with the end goal of innovating inside and outside of the financial sector, to supply the most current solutions on the market”.

Labelled as the largest financial technology event in the world, Finovate is split into six different yearly editions, taking place in New York, London, Silicon Valley, Hong Kong, Dubai and Cape Town. Each edition aims to challenge fintechs from all over the world to showcase their latest innovations through Live Demos on stage, performed in under 7 minutes.

With the goal of establishing a strong presence in international markets, ebankIT exhibited at the end of January, at Paris Fintech Forum, an international forum that took place on the Palais Brongniart and accounted more than 220 CEOs from fintechs and banks.

Founded in Porto in 2014, with offices in London and New York, ebankIT has already successfully implemented digital transformation omnichannel solutions in financial institutions from Canada, Romania, Switzerland, Kuwait and South Africa, providing Internet Banking, Mobile Banking, Back-office, Front-office and Contact Center capabilities.

Smith & Williamson, the UK-based financial and professional services firm, has further enhanced its relationship with international fintech leader Avaloq by adopting its comprehensive Software as a Service (SaaS) solution. The move comes six months after Smith & Williamson selected Avaloq to help enhance the delivery of investment management services to its clients and support the continued growth of the business through the Avaloq Banking Suite. The move will allow Smith & Williamson to roll out new, adaptable products and services to its clients faster than ever before.

Avaloq is one of the world’s leading providers of SaaS and BPaaS solutions to financial services institutions, such as private banks and wealth managers. With SaaS, Avaloq delivers its software at scale, using its experience of working with more than 150 institutions to refine and adjust a standard set of industrial-grade, best-in-class, compliance-ready processes that can be made available to every institution that needs them, based on a single consistent data model. For firms such as Smith & Williamson, SaaS models offer greater levels of accessibility, flexibility and scalability.

The latest deal with Smith & Williamson further increases Avaloq’s share of the UK wealth management community – other UK customers include Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management and Coutts. This sector, which is seeing a large number of firms embarking on major digitisation projects to become more competitive, is a key growth market for Avaloq.

Mark Prior, Head of IT at Smith & Williamson, said: “Our decision to adopt Avaloq’s SaaS forms part of our commitment to invest significantly in technology over the next five years and ensures the firm is well-positioned for continued growth. As IT systems become more complex and more business critical, Avaloq will ensure our system will be supported, maintained and operated by leading technology experts. Through SaaS, we expect to receive high levels of support and availability via a single point of accountability, while always benefitting from the latest software in the market.”

Paco Hauser, General Manager EMEA at Avaloq, said: “Smith & Williamson is a great example of a leading financial services firm leveraging Avaloq’s SaaS solution to transform its operating model. We’re delighted the firm has sought to further develop its relationship with us in such a short space of time.”

Jonathan Davis, UK Managing Director at Avaloq, added: “As a company, we are focused on delivering highly differentiated, value-add solutions that support our clients’ aspirations for growth in a competitive investment management market. Avaloq is delighted to be a strategic pillar of support as firms like Smith & Williamson take the next step to realize bottom-up growth.”

Following the recent ‘Blockchain for Sustainable Development Goals’ tour across Europe and Asia, the a European Blockchain HUB (EUBC HUB) and Nispana, under the patronage of the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology of the Republic of Slovenia, are inviting and welcoming experts on blockchain from different stakeholder groups, entities, and individuals from all around the globe to join rich discussions during the two-day event.

Committed to advocating global integration and adoption of distributed ledger technology (DLT) and fostering and strengthening cooperation between key actors in the Blockchain ecosystem, the Summit aims to gather some of the biggest names in the field. 

The event is scheduled for 29-30 April 2019, in the Exhibition and Convention Centre in Ljubljana, Slovenia. It will welcome governments’ representatives, business sector, academia, NGOs, scientists, analysts, educators, startups, investors, and other leaders in the field from across the world. 

Blockchain has been considered as one of the technologies of the future for a while now. Nevertheless, there are a lot of questions rising around its usage and regulation, which goes beyond cryptocurrencies. At the summit, we will look into providing a platform for discussion about implementation of blockchain in different industries for realizing the United Nations’ sustainable development goals (SDGs), as well as tokenizing economy with suitable ecosystems for ICOs, and bringing wide range of good practice cases of blockchain use. In addition, the audience will hear how to benefit from the exchange to foster and strengthen the cooperation amongst blockchain businesses, larger society, and regulators with the goal of developing the trustful and secure blockchain ecosystem.

The key features of the conference are: 

❖ Global Leaders Exchange – government delegation, high level meeting: Discussing investments, smart and sustainable tech cities of future, regulations, safety and security

❖ Exchange Sessions: investors and start-up exchange, student exchange; side event: workshops, tour to the world’s first Bitcoin City, and Blockchain Innovation Awards

❖ Blockchain Innovation Awards: Investor of the year award, Blockchain in the Financial Sector, Innovative use of blockchain in the Supply Chain, Blockchain in Consumer Rewards Schemes, Blockchain Startup / ICO Success Story Award, Best Educational initiative in blockchain

The Global Blockchain Summit offers exhibition space for those entities who wish to present their work and activities in front of the attendees from over 30 countries. Live stream will also be provided for global remote participants.

 Gymshark and Klarna have today announced the launch of Klarna’s Pay later service in the UK, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark. Enabling Gymshark’s loyal community of shoppers to order the latest fitness apparel and pay after delivery.

This combination of Gymshark’s in-demand products and Klarna’s innovative Pay later service, means shoppers never need to miss out on the latest lines and product drops. The Gymshark community can now access new and exclusive gym-gear without fearing their favourite pieces will sell out. The new service allows shoppers to try items on at home, keeping only what they love, before parting with a single penny.

Commenting on the partnership, Russ Carroll, UK Commercial Director at Klarna, said:

“Our partnership with Gymshark is a natural fit. We both share the same vision of giving shoppers more control over what they order and when they pay — ensuring they get the right fit and look for their workout needs. This is of the utmost importance, particularly considering that activewear now accounts for almost a quarter of all apparel sales globally according to the NDP group. We’re delighted to be partnering with Gymshark to further enhance their checkout experience in the UK and Nordics, with more markets to follow soon.”

Niran Chana, Trading Director at Gymshark adds: “We’re one of the UK’s fastest-growing companies, but in order to stay at the top of our game we need to constantly look at ways to improve. At Gymshark, we have always championed putting innovation at the heart of our community — it’s part of what has helped us grow so quickly. Introducing Klarna’s Pay later feature is a natural next step for us to make sure we give our community the best possible shopping experience. We want to make shopping with us easy, and that’s exactly what Klarna helps us do.”

Semafone, the leading provider of data security and compliance solutions for call and contact centres, today announced the appointment of Gary E. Barnett to the role of chief executive officer as the company prepares to expand its presence in the U.S. market. Effective immediately, Mr Barnett will replace Tim Critchley who, as CEO of Semafone since 2009, has led the company from a UK start up to an award-winning international business spanning five continents. As the company places further focus on expanding its customer and partner relationships across the U.S., Barnett brings a unique mix of industry knowledge and software solutions expertise to accelerate global expansion.

Gary Barnett is recognised worldwide as an authority on contact centre (CC) and unified communications (UC) technologies and solutions. With a 30-year track record of delivering outstanding leadership and stakeholder value in senior leadership roles at both Avaya and Aspect Software, he was recognised by the contact centre industry with a Lifetime Achievement Award.

“We are incredibly fortunate to have someone of Gary Barnett’s calibre and experience to lead Semafone into the future,” said David Sear, Semafone’s chairman. “Barnett is the perfect fit with his deep knowledge and market expertise as a pioneer of contact centre technologies. It’s an exciting and pivotal time in Semafone’s development as the company looks to further expand into the U.S. market and Barnett will provide the leadership needed to successfully take advantage of the opportunities that lie ahead.”

Mr Barnett said, “I am privileged to have the opportunity to bring my passion for contact centre compliance and extensive market experience to the CEO role at Semafone. Working closely with Semafone, its customers and partners in my previous role, I’ve developed a deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities that truly matter most. I am thrilled to begin executing on those opportunities, address the industry’s challenges, and drive Semafone to innovate and evolve with faster, frictionless cloud technology – further consolidating the company as the world’s most trusted solution for protecting telephone-based card data.”

Speaking on behalf of the board, David Sear said, “Tim Critchley has done an amazing job building Semafone from the ground up and overseeing our entry into the U.S. market. We wish him further success as he pursues new opportunities.”