SEI has partnered with global consulting and technology company Synechron to explore opportunities for using blockchain technology in its business. SEI believes blockchain can be used to process, validate and authenticate transactions without the need for a central authority or intermediary. A blockchain is a digitized and decentralized public ledger of records within a financial ecosystem. Its original commercial use was to codify transactions among buyers and sellers of bitcoin, but it has expanded to include asset ownership recordkeeping from real estate to music rights. Synechron works with major platforms including Corda, Quorum, Ethereum and Fabric, and its program is supported by R3, a financial services blockchain consortium. “Enterprise blockchain application development is reaching a new level of maturity within financial services. It is incredibly encouraging to see a leading investment services and technology innovator like SEI making a meaningful commitment to cultivate talent and explore DLT use cases,” said Sandeep Kumar, managing director and Blockchain Center of Excellence lead at Synechron.
Coinbase Launches Cryptocurrency Index Fund
Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has launched the Coinbase Index Fund, the first fund that gives investors access to all of the digital coins on the exchange, Investopedia reports. The fund, according to a blog post by Coinbase Product Manager Reuben Bramanathan, gives accredited investors (those with $100,000 or more in income or more than $1 million in assets), exposure to all of the digital tokens listed on GDAX, Coinbase’s exchange. So far, Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin and Ether are available, and are weighted by market capitalization. When new assets are listed on GDAX, they will automatically be added to the fund. This is just the beginning for Coinbase. The company has created Coinbase Asset Management to run the fund and others are in the works. New funds created by Coinbase will be geared toward retail investors and will require filings with the SEC, Bloomberg is reporting.
Millennials Want to “Live Their Best Lives”
According to a recent study by the Financial Wellness Think Tank, employees are seeking to work for employers who help them “live their best lives.” The study looked at the overall financial implications of three major life events—buying a home, getting married and having children. Homeownership, for example, is a leading indicator of future financial success. On the other hand, having children is a leading cause of financial strain, though being married and/or owning a home can be major mitigating factors. The one common thread throughout the study is the importance of financial and family planning. Overall, it estimates the value of planning for these life events at over $150,000 for the average person over the course of his or her lifetime. That equates to about $10,000 in additional annual income in the retirement years.
