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BEST OF THE BEST :
The fintechs shaping the securities services industry
In July 2018 , GC published a feature titled ' How custodians learned to stop worrying and love the fintechs ' in which we pointed to the end of an era for disruption worries and the beginning of the age of the partnership . The years prior were filled with talk of new entrants displacing or eating the lunch of incumbent securities services providers as fintechs popped up on almost a daily basis amid an obsession with blockchain and new technologies . Century-old institutions were labelled as vulnerable due to their legacy technology , oil-tanker-like agility and reluctance to innovate . But it turned out that talk of the custodians ’ death was greatly exaggerated . Instead , this date marked the dawn of a new phase within the securities services industry , one which benefited the custodians , but also the best of the best fintechs . Doors were flung open where once they were locked and safeguarded by arduous layers of security and scepticism , innovation became as much about adopting solutions as it was about internal ideas and an acknowledgement of the fact that someone else may do certain things better than these juggernauts spread throughout the industry . Investment began pouring into those with the brightest ideas , custodians began adopting fintech services in a plug-and-play style format and startups were able to grow rapidly and innovate , while having the experience and backing of major organisations .
Custodians have come to the realisation that they can ' t go it alone in the future when it comes to innovation and have therefore partnered with - and invested in - fintechs . After some years of new entrants coming and going , the ones that remain are a group of bona fide outfits with a vision , the appropriate backing and a path to make a genuine impact in the world of securities services .
In 2022 , what remains of the fintech landscape is – on the whole – a set of bona fide outfits with a vision , backing and path to make a genuine impact in the world of securities services . Most of these are doing this through partnerships and investment , tackling problems which need solving in the custody and fund services space , as opposed to the ‘ hammer looking for a nail ’ approach we saw in the early-to-mid 2010s . As a publication which has ridden the ups and downs of successes and failures in this sector , we felt it was the perfect time during this ongoing wave of innovation to put a spotlight on the achievements of a select few who are truly shaping the securities services industry of the future . This is not to say these are the only impactful fintechs , but through consultation with custodians and our interactions with these innovators , we have compiled a list of companies which our readers need to know about at this moment in time .
Fall 2022 globalcustodian . com 27