FIDELITY INTERNATIONAL
some of the fund share classes it offered , and identifying where there was demand in the market , Froehlich says : “ If you think of digital-native investors , which are naturally more adept to digital assets , they are also looking at ways of integrating traditional assets into their portfolio or wallet . Tokenising this asset necessitates a change , an upgrade in our infrastructure , which is another area that I ’ m focusing on . So it ’ s both this convergence from client demand and need for an upgraded infrastructure that led to the decision to dedicate resources to this topic .”
The fact that Fidelity ’ s customers were asking them to invest in this space was one of the primary motivating factors . Froehlich believes that it would not be possible to test out this emerging area without the backing of key stakeholders within Fidelity , as well as a desire to meet customer demand .
“ I think we have a philosophy of pushing Use more the image boundaries and captions using new as technologies often ,” he tells as possible us . “ There is a very
entrepreneurial spirit that runs within Fidelity . Most employees have an opportunity to test certain assumptions and hypotheses , to potentially launch new solutions , new services or new lines of business .”
“ It doesn ’ t have to come from the top ; there are a lot of people within the company that are given the flexibility of testing a new concept . That ’ s also one of the reasons that we managed to launch a standalone business dedicated to digital assets .”
Fidelity ’ s first digital assets product launch was not just a case of a new asset class , it was a case of a new technology that clients had to become accustomed to . Questions around custody pervaded at that time , as they do today , and there was uncertainty about the regulatory wrapper that would surround a launch of this nature .
This was in spite of the loud noise that reverberated around the crypto space . These were crucial concerns , such was the breakneck acceleration of digital assets . “ Because there was so much uncertainty about the technology and a few of the environmental impacts , as well as the valuation … the question was whether it was appropriate for us to launch a product like this for our clients ,” Froehlich explains . “ We came to the conclusion that , because the client demand was there , our role was not necessarily to dictate what to do but to offer investors a convenient and secure way to access this asset class . So the way this product was positioned was as an access product . If you are interested and if you think that you are knowledgeable on the topic , we will provide you access . That also meant that the focus has been very much on institutional investors , and not on retail investors .”
Supporting Fidelity ’ s digital asset growth journey As part of their digital asset growth , Fidelity International has been partnering with Keith Bear , Associate Partner at Elixirr and a member of the Bank of England Central Bank Digital Currency
“ THE LEVEL OF EDUCATION
AMONG RETAIL INVESTORS IS STILL LIMITED . PEOPLE HAVE HAD AN EXTREMELY SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME TO DIGEST THE CONCEPT
OF DIGITAL ASSETS ”
LUC FROEHLICH GLOBAL HEAD OF DIGITAL ASSET
SOLUTIONS , FIDELITY INTERNATIONAL
68 fintechmagazine . com | June 2023