In 2021, I believe the pace of technical innovation in the securities finance industry will accelerate immeasurably. Because it needs to. It’s no secret that there is ample opportunity for streamlining inefficiencies across the trade lifecycle. In many cases, any improvement would be revolutionary. However, innovation must be in tune with the industry’s needs, not innovation for innovation’s sake. We can no longer rely on the “if we build it, they will come” mentality. At EquiLend, we’ve already put this into practice. We interviewed 50+ trading desks around the world to understand how we could make NGT work better for them. Their feedback prompted our 3 phases of enhancements to the platform, which address the key requests we heard from our assessment.
This past year was also a time of historical social and political disruption, and the growing discourse on pervasive racial inequities reaffirmed a commitment to making real change. We’re done just talking about it. It’s time to act on our words. Diversity and inclusion initiatives will remain a key priority in the new year, as they should, and we look forward to announcing new plans soon. ESG, once a buzzword, has moved into the mainstream for many investors this past year. I think it will become an even bigger deal in 2021, as changes in investment philosophies continue to head in one direction. EquiLend is committed to creating solutions that empower our clients to embrace these strategies.
At the onset of this new year, the entire world sits in a historic place. We can feel the eyes of posterity on us already. I view innovation as the force that will move us forward. EquiLend is dedicated to leading our clients and the industry through this period of uncertainty. With growing signs of vaccination progress, we hope to see you on the other side of this very soon!
Stay safe, all!
