Tag: Liquidity

Project Acacia and Tokenized Markets with Justin Chapman and Paul Abraham

Project Acacia and Tokenized Markets with Justin Chapman and Paul Abraham

As tokenized assets move into real-world testing, institutional investors need to understand how they could affect existing payment systems, settlement processes, risk controls, and operating models.

What can real-world testing teach financial institutions about the next stage of digital markets?

In this episode, Paul Fahey speaks with Justin Chapman, Group Head of Strategic Partnerships, Digital Assets and Financial Markets at Northern Trust, and Paul Abraham, Chief of Investment Services at Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation, about Project Acacia. They cover a live use case connecting a tokenized carbon credit with traditional cash settlement, what institutional investors are learning about tokenized assets and digital cash, and why hybrid infrastructure may remain part of financial markets as adoption develops.

Key points:

  • How Project Acacia tested tokenized assets alongside traditional payment infrastructure and settlement processes
  • Why institutional investors are studying tokenization before broader adoption reaches their operating models
  • How digital cash, tokenized equities, and different settlement models may develop across jurisdictions
  • Where tokenization may improve liquidity, collateral use, operational efficiency, and risk visibility
  • Why trust, liquidity, security, and regulatory clarity remain central to wider institutional participation
  • And more!

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About Paul Abraham:

Paul Abraham is Chief of Investment Services at Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation (CSC), which provides superannuation products and services to Australian Government and Australian Defense Force employees. He joined CSC in 2005 and brings more than 30 years of financial services experience, with previous roles spanning chartered accountancy, asset management, and financial planning across Australia, London, Tokyo, and Singapore. Paul is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants Australia and holds a Master of Financial Management from Australian National University and a Bachelor of Business (Accountancy) from Charles Sturt University.

Reshaping the Investment Model: Challenges and Shifts for EMEA Asset Owners with Mark Austin

Reshaping the Investment Model: Challenges and Shifts for EMEA Asset Owners with Mark Austin

The pressure on asset owners is mounting, but so is their influence.  

With shifting regulations, growing data demands, and interest in alternatives, institutional investors across EMEA are being pushed to rethink their strategies from the ground up.

In this episode, host Paul Fahey chats with Mark Austin, Pensions and Insurance Executive, EMEA at Northern Trust, to explore findings from Northern Trust’s global asset owner peer study, “Asset Owners in Focus”. They discuss rising priorities such as liquidity, outsourcing, and data integration, and examine how shifting expectations are redefining strategy in the pension and insurance space across EMEA.

Mark discusses:

  • How asset owners are rethinking liquidity needs amid volatility and alternative investments
  • The growing demand for integrated, timely, and accurate data to support portfolio decisions
  • The evolving role of outsourcing in driving efficiency and value recognition
  • Government-driven consolidation in the UK pension space and its operational consequences
  • Why asset owners are beginning to shape pricing and dictate terms with asset managers and other providers

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Advancements in Digitized Banking with Peter Sanchez

Advancements in Digitized Banking with Peter Sanchez

As the world becomes increasingly digitized, the banking industry is no exception. In this episode, Peter Sanchez, Global Head of Banking and Treasury Services at Northern Trust, dives into the current environment for banking, trends in cash usage and demand for liquidity amongst investors, and the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead in the pursuit of instantaneous, real-time payments.  

Peter discusses:

  • The current environment for banking and trends in cash usage and demand for liquidity
  • The push for real-time reporting on balances and settlements
  • The implications of instantaneous cash delivery 
  • What Central Bank Digital Currencies are and how they differ from cryptocurrencies
  • The impact that Distributed Ledger Technology has on advancements in digitized baking
  • And more

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