THETRADETECH DA I LY
THE OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF TRADETECH 2018
There are a lot of trust issues around gender for various reasons that need
to be built up, but the industry is going about that the right way.
woman and women were certainly becoming
more successful in the industry, which I view
as a very significant moment in my career,”
Conn adds. Following the global financial cri-
sis, and having worked at Atticus Capital and
Instinet, Conn joined Barings Asset Manage-
ment, before moving to Edinburgh to work at
Baillie Gifford in his current role. an opportunity and the general premise of
transparency is one that should be applauded.
Conn says he has been encouraged by the
pragmatic approach regulators have taken to
ensure that whilst there’s transparency in the
industry’s processes, there is an understand-
ing that transparency in trading is not always
a good thing. disadvantaged, something he says is his
biggest fear. Conn considers navigating that
new market structure and the rise in passive
investing as other challenges for the buy-side
at the moment.
“We have to be sure we have access to suffi-
cient liquidity and have to be open to change;
I think that’s probably the biggest thing.
“One of the Baillie Gifford shared beliefs is
that we should promote the highest standards
of service and professional behaviours to help
enhance the reputation of the investment
industry. I think there are a lot of trust issues
around gender for various reasons that need
to be built up, but the industry is going about
that the right way. The fact it is a meritocra-
cy is perhaps its biggest single strength. It’s
great there are far more opportunities for
women in the industry and women are very
much treated as equals. I have worked now
for three female bosses and I think it’s great.”
Conn, like any other senior buy-sider,
has his views on the MiFID II regulation
although he takes a more positive slant
than perhaps others would. He believes it’s “Probably the biggest take-away of the last
two years has been the way that different
parts of the industry have collaborated to try
and come up with sensible solutions that ben-
efit the end investor. Yes we have dark pool
caps and we may all have our different views
on those, but we do have a structure and it’s
interesting to see how firms are looking to
address the way we will be trading equities
moving forward and doing so in a compliant
fashion,” Conn says.
Speaking to some of his trading counter-
parts, bodies like the Investment Associa-
tion and his head of trading peers, Conn is
confident there are sufficiently smart people
out there to ensure the industry will end up
with a market structure where clients aren’t The buy-side must be prepared to adapt to a
new paradigm and those firms who are more
prepared to embrace change I think they
will benefit, whether that’s change through
technology or the way people do things. It’s
difficult to tell but I think if a firm has the
right ethics and ability to embrace change
they will be in a stro ng position,” he says.
“As asset managers we are acting a fiduciary
on behalf of other people. We need to set a
positive example not just within our industry
but within our communities as well. Our
actions and our behaviours should support
society as a whole. The industry has tight-
ened its controls and we are moving in the
right direction to uphold and promote those
standards.”
Issue 1
TheTradeNews.com
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