Countdown to Spectrum 2023 – Financial Services Reimagined

The countdown is underway for Spectrum 2023, the conference that reimagines the future for financial services in the Cayman Islands.

Spectrum 2023 is the only conference that brings together industry leaders, innovators, regulators and government officials, to debate global issues affecting modern financial centres and the opportunities for Cayman.  The full-day event takes place on 14 September at the Ritz-Carlton Grand Cayman. 

Now into its third year, this year’s event will feature over 30 experts across six different areas of the financial services industry. The panel discussions at Spectrum will therefore represent a true reflection of the special ingredients that make Cayman financial services so successful.

With a captivating agenda, local industry experts will also discuss the challenges presented by social and economic change, disruptive technology, regulatory pressure and global competition, to reimagine Cayman’s place in the future of financial services.

“This year we have doubled down on the number of expert panels we have taking place, from funds, family offices and reinsurance, to ESG, regulation and virtual assets. This truly represents the great diversity we have within our financial services industry,” said Paul Byles, founder of Spectrum. 

“The changes introduced to the programme are all based on feedback we received from last year’s event,” he added. “I am thrilled with the discussions we have outlined this year, because the nature of topics and depth of coverage in our preparations will make it an inspiring event. We are expecting some extremely powerful insights for our audience of industry and government leaders,” Byles said.

With an onslaught of global regulatory change and continued debate over Cayman’s role as an international financial centre, more clarity over the regulatory outlook is always welcome. For the panel discussion asking: ‘What does the next year of regulation look like?’. There will be five senior CIMA officials gathered around the table to tell us.

Probably the biggest issue in global finance right now is ESG, which has dominated discussions onshore, while IFCs like Cayman try to establish their position in a regulatory framework still emerging. At Spectrum 2023, local expert Arnaud Van Dijk, Principal for KPMG’s ESG Practice, will lead the ESG panel discussion with an eclectic group of Cayman finance professionals and Lisa-Ann Hurlston-McKenzie, Senior Policy Advisor with the Ministry of Sustainability & Climate Resiliency.

Challenges for Family Offices have certainly become more pronounced in the years following the pandemic. The panel discussion featuring top practitioners in the sector will look at how to navigate the evolving landscape for family offices, including strategies to adapt and thrive, and where family offices are investing right now.

One thing that all delegates will agree on is that Fintech and Virtual Assets will continue to have a profound impact on international financial services. The Spectrum panel provides the opportunity for free-flowing ideas on how this disruptive technology can empower financial services and bring greater diversity to the economy. 

While Cayman has taken a more measured approach to regulating Virtual Assets than some other jurisdictions, with institutional adoption likely over the next three-to-five years, the panel - which features an exciting cocktail of tech founders and executives with heavyweight Cayman legal expertise - will assess the best opportunity, based on our unique strengths.

Investment Funds have been the mainstay of the Cayman financial services industry for decades. A constantly evolving business, however, faces both a regulatory squeeze driven by the EU and OECD, as well as competition from Europe and Asia. The Investment Funds 2.0 panel at Spectrum will look at how complex fund structures have now become, as well as the international market landscape and the future of funds, with a number of highly regarded local experts taking part. 

Further underscoring the depth of Cayman’s financial services, a specialist reinsurance panel will highlight, not just the exceptional level of expertise now well-established in the jurisdiction, but its important contribution to the wider industry. With topics such as climate change, catastrophic events and yet more regulatory upheaval on the agenda, both lively debate and deep reinsurance insight can be expected.

Produced and hosted by FTS, Spectrum is a ‘must attend’ event for senior managers, partners and financial services business leaders from the public and private sector. The event is supported by the Ministry of Financial Services & Commerce and Cayman Finance. Further information including the full agenda can be found on the website at www.spectrum.ky .

Spectrum 2023 is a full-day event, taking place on 14 September 2023 at the Ritz-Carlton Grand Cayman.