The FS Club Podcast

The fourteenth edition of the Global Green Finance Index provides the world’s most authoritative measure of the performance of financial centres in delivering green finance services.

The report, assembled by combining the views of financial professionals from around the world, with quantitative data commissioned and curated from over 130 sources, uses advanced statistical techniques to map the global spread of green finance.

Web3, sometimes referred to as the “Semantic Web”, enhances the machine readability of web content and could usher in a more intelligent, interconnected, and decentralised internet, turbocharging decentralised finance and fintech blockchain applications.

These innovations have the potential to reshape financial services to be more inclusive and equitable, greatly enhancing international trade and the competitiveness, and reputations, of financial centres that are at the forefront of innovation.

However, DeFi applications also have the potential to bring certain risks, such as the ease of fraud and money laundering, strip protections from customers. Such risks require careful regulatory attention to prevent negative impact on national economies and the global financial system.

Given these dual potentials, an enabling regulatory framework for innovation is crucial, and financial regulators are the bodies that must walk a tightrope between these two outcomes – too heavy handed an approach will see innovation stifled and businesses fleeing to overseas competitors, too light a touch will result in damage to markets.

This webinar looks at how financial centres can support Web3 and FinTech whilst protecting markets and customers, and unveils the latest research from Z/Yen, which was commissioned by Hong Kong’s Financial Services Development Council. Our speakers will unpick the challenges facing various stakeholders in the ecosystem, including regulators and the private sector. They will examine different approaches to foster an enabling regulatory framework for innovation and reveal the insights gained from exchanges with web3 innovators in Hong Kong on the island’s efforts to stimulate innovation in Web3 and Fintech.

Zodia Markets is the UK’s only bank-backed cryptoasset company, being majority-owned by Standard Chartered Bank. Indeed, it is one of the few in the world. In this webinar we will explore its path to being established including the risks that the Bank was concerned about. We will also give an overview of what sets it apart from other cryptoasset brokerages and exchanges, such as access to banking services and foreign exchange.

Wealth management refers to the provision of wealth advisory services targeted at affluent individuals and families. Its main objective is structuring and planning wealth to assist in growing, preserving, and protecting wealth. One important segment of wealth management is Family Office which has been in existence in Mauritius since 2016. It offers curated financial services to ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWIs) and their families. With its stable political and economic environment, Mauritius is well positioned to become the preferred destination for wealth management.

This webinar is aimed at providing an overview of the Mauritius International Financial Centre (MIFC) as a premier jurisdiction for wealth management, with emphasis given to the setting up of a Family Office. Additionally, it will present the strategic advantages, structural options, and legal & regulatory framework that position Mauritius as the destination of choice for wealth management. Additionally, the session will explore current trends in wealth management, the benefits of the Mauritius Family Office scheme and the diverse investment opportunities available within the jurisdiction.

Will a new form of media emerge heralding an explosive and sustained burst of artistic and intellectual creativity or the power of Big Tech, Big Media and Big Brands be entrenched.

Could Metaverse, Spatial Computing, and Immersive environments become the “Next Big Thing” it’s been a long time coming the first scaled Metaverse “Second Life” was founded in 2003. The current catalyst is AI becoming embedded within content creation, and computing architectures, has the adoption equation changed?

Numerous questions occur, what are the impacts on media and content could “Big Media” be disintermediated. Will every form of content become fungible, changeable or faked at scale, as a text prompt can create any form of media. Could “Big Tech” advertising models be challenged by a collision of social media and crypto.

The stakes are high for the UK with a large creative workforce of c1.4 million what forms of disruption can be expected.

Is there a dark side, could immersive media generated at an individual level be designed to manipulate and condition. What arguments can be made for new forms of regulation to prevent harm.

Can this form of immersive metaverse based on computation herald a new age of artistic and media creativity, with digital avatars becoming the new social media and spurring an explosive burst of discovery, learning and efficiencies in business, medicine, academia, media and fashion.

Conversely, will the predictions of science fiction dystopia prevail, with every single digital media experience touched by a human every day full of dark patterns seeking to manipulate, control or sell.

This webinar entitled ‘Enemies of Judgement’ explores the greatest influencers of judgement quality: namely what we don’t know, our Ignorance, and what we think we know or our Bias. Why is risk always on the agenda? It is to ensure we deliver good judgement.

On 15 April 2022, Mauritius introduced the Variable Capital Companies (VCC) Act, aimed at diversifying its product offerings and boosting its competitiveness as a fund management hub. The new VCC Act is attracting interest from institutional investors, family offices and fund managers wishing to set up innovative and cost-effective investment vehicles in Mauritius.

We are pleased to invite you and your clients to an exclusive webinar on VCC in Mauritius, designed to provide you with valuable insights into this innovative business structure and its potential benefits.

"Insurtech" is a term that was only coined within the last few years but within a short space of time, the UK has become a global insurtech hub with more insurtechs per capita than anywhere else in the world. The UK insurtech market is worth $20bn to the UK economy. Find out how insurtech is transforming UK insurance and what are the key opportunities and challenges for this important and growing area of the market.

Join us as we explore the ground breaking impact of AI technology in revolutionising financial advice within prisons. Discover how Debt Free Advice's innovative Video Advice Kiosks, incorporating ethical AI, are transforming the way inmates access crucial debt and financial support. This presentation will delve into the innovative use of AI to enhance the delivery of FCA-regulated information during video advice sessions, making financial rehabilitation more accessible and effective for those behind bars.