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The pandemic has shed the spotlight on supply chain issues across all industries, so what does that look like in financial services? This session will highlight the need for resilience and robust continuity planning.[vc_quotes layout=”accordion” 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title=”Speakers” el_class=””][vc_quotes layout=”accordion” 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title=”Moderator” el_class=””][vc_empty_space height=”10px”]
Key takeaways
Geoff
We were ‘lucky’ to have had a fire in the London office three years ago which helped us prepare for the COVID-19 pandemic and WFH scenario.
Backup planning has flaws, as illustrated by disaster recovery sites not being able to be used due to social distancing requirements.
Cyber attacks have gone up significantly. The use of personal laptops is a point of vulnerability in the ecosystem.
Resilience is expanding as a topic, shifting from making processes robust to challenging outsourced functions to mitigate interruptions to supply chains and business operations.
Cyber threat is racing ahead of where the industry is at, however there are some cyber security quick wins e.g. keeping patching up to date and legitimate laptop identification.
COVID-19 has shifted the mindset from ROI and headcount reduction to refining operating models and implementing technology and people initiatives to achieve that goal.
Arjen
Due diligence on new service providers has taken on increased significance.
Working is a social thing and people miss the physical interaction. Offices of the future will be where people meet, not where people work.
April
Leveraged relationship with existing service providers during the pandemic peak to brainstorm how to continue business operations.
COVID-19 has forced a seismic shift in due diligence innovation.
Technology is critical but from an operational perspective people are enormously important, hence the need to focus on cultural and wellbeing initiatives.
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Poll results
Do you think your own organisation, and your service providers’ organisations are resilient enough to manage a significant cyber attack?[vc_line_chart x_values=”” values=”%5B%7B%22title%22%3A%22Yes%20(40%25)%22%2C%22y_values%22%3A%2240%22%2C%22color%22%3A%22blue%22%7D%2C%7B%22title%22%3A%22No%20(17%25)%22%2C%22y_values%22%3A%2217%22%2C%22color%22%3A%22pink%22%7D%2C%7B%22title%22%3A%22Maybe%20(43%25)%22%2C%22y_values%22%3A%2243%22%2C%22color%22%3A%22vista-blue%22%2C%22custom_color%22%3A%22%23f4524d%22%7D%5D”]
The Florida State Board of Administration has made some strategic moves to take advantage of opportunities in the dislocation, including in private equity, distressed debt and active listed equities.. But CIO, Ash Williams, is concerned about the underlying real economy.
Fraud and falsehoods are nothing new but technology has made it much more difficult to separate fact from fiction. Professor Stephen Kotkin discussed investing in a world of deception.
Are the two world powers on a collision course for war? Could global investors get smashed between the two? Unfortunately, the answers appear to be yes and yes.
There is growing recognition that globalisation has a downside. But whether they are mitigated, or continue on the current course, investors should be looking to safeguard their portfolios.
The implications for investors of the inclusion of China A-shares in the wider MSCI indexes, an inevitable outcome, will be discussed at the Fiduciary Investors Symposium at Yale in October.
Geopolitical risk is largely priced in to markets according to the John P. Birkelund ’52 Professor in History and International Affairs at Princeton University, Stephen Kotkin.
Former Governor of the US Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke, says there are no foreseeable shocks to the financial system. In any case, he says, the system itself is so much more robust than it was before the crisis, that it could weather the storm. The only possible cause for concern is geopolitical risk. Risk
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