Biggest impact of blockchain will be security: research

New research with institutional investors and wealth managers has revealed that 56% believe the impact of blockchain on improving security measures will be ‘very high’ and a further 37% say it will be high.

The study, published today, is from Global Palladium Fund (GPF), which recently listed four metal Exchange Traded Commodities (ETCs) and is the first ETC provider to use Blockchain technology to record bar information into Distributed Ledger Technology thereby providing an extra layer of security and proof of ownership to the Issuer.   The use of Blockchain is in addition to the traditional recording processes used by the custodian.

When asked about the technology’s impact on other areas of the investment management sector, 52% of professional investors say it will be “very high” on portfolio management, and this is followed by 50% who say this is about supporting regulatory compliance, and 43% who cite this when asked about improving operational efficiency.  Overall, 42% say blockchain’s impact on reducing costs will be “very high.”

Blockchain can have a huge positive impact on every aspect of an asset manager’s business. Increasingly, having blockchain at the centre of their operations, will become as important for fund managers as the investment strategies they employ.”

Area of business for investment management firms

Percentage of professional investors who believe blockchain will have a very high positive impact on this area of business for fund managers

Percentage of professional investors who believe blockchain will have a high positive impact on this area of business for fund managers

Security

56%

37%

Portfolio management 

52%

34%

Regulatory compliance

50%

40%

Operational efficiency

43%

42%

Costs

42%

33%

Clearance processes

40%

46%

Client on-boarding and management

35%

44%

 

When it comes to automating sales through smart contacts, 63% of professional investors interviewed said the impact of blockchain will be very high, and a further 25% said it will be high.

Alexander Stoyanov, CEO of GPF said: “Blockchain can have a huge positive impact on every aspect of an asset manager’s business.  Increasingly, having blockchain at the centre of their operations, will become as important for fund managers as the investment strategies they employ. For example, provenance is becoming the centre of attention in commodities markets, and we are proud to be the first ETC issuer to be using blockchain to record metal bar ownership thereby demonstrating its practical applications to investors.”

Timothy Harvey, CEO and founder of NTree, said: “Blockchain will have a huge impact on the way asset managers run their businesses.  It will be a source of competitive advantage for the early adopters, which means that is likely to be a feature of the industry landscape relatively quickly.”

Global Palladium Fund’s (GPF) has four new metal ETCs (gold, silver, palladium and platinum) listed on the Deutsche Börse and London Stock Exchange.  They have the lowest charges with total expense ratios (TER) ranging from 0.145% to 0.20%. Targeting family offices, wealth managers, institutional and other professional investors, the new physically-backed gold, silver, platinum and palladium ETCs will track the spot price of the respective metals they cover.