Episode Transcript
Lee Turner-Conn: Welcome to FTSE Russell Convenes. I'm Lee Turner-Conn, Head of the Index Investments Group for Americas at FTSE Russell. Today, I am joined with Fiona Bassett, CEO of FTSE Russell. In our discussion, we'll be covering Fiona's career and her recent move to FTSE Russell. Fiona, welcome.
Fiona Bassett: Thank you very much, Lee, pleasure to be here.
Lee Turner-Conn: What piqued your interest to take a job on the indexing side that is owned by a stock exchange?
Fiona Bassett: That's a great question. So first and foremost, when I was approached about it, obviously I had the benefit of being a client of FTSE Russell, as well as other index providers, and I felt like FTSE Russell, really great brand, unique in many ways in the sense that it has really strong, I would say, leadership positions in each of the asset classes, so can truly deliver a multi-asset class proposition. But also the fact it's part of the London Stock Exchange, was hugely advantageous in delivering a really powerful client proposition, particularly because we live in a world where data ownership is critical, where clients want to go deeper with fewer, and where there are component parts of the broader London Stock Exchange Group estate that we can put together to really help deliver the ecosystem around our indices, recognising the importance of not just the indices themselves, but the data, the analytics, the derivatives, the way in which people consume and interact with our product. And then of course the fact that London Stock Exchange Group is also acquisitive, made that, at like, from a strategic perspective, a really interesting opportunity. And I'm pleased to say that ten months on that hypothesis is wildly validated, and I think we're already making great strides, and I think a huge future ahead of us.
Lee Turner-Conn: So it sounds like it wasn't just that it was the index business, it was what it was a part of, being part of the exchange and the full ecosystem there.
Fiona Bassett: Yes, it’s a strange thing for me to say, because we celebrate forty years of actually both FTSE and Russell indices, individually and collectively this year. And yet at the same time, I think we're still early in the evolution of indexing and clearly in equities where passive assets now have overtaken actively managed assets, it's very well developed, but I would say if you look at fixed income, we are early in the overall runway of that, in areas like sustainable and the move to net zero or decarbonisation in the early stages of that. And I think the other aspect of it is, you look at developing economies and their use of index funds and ETFs as the basis for moving clients from a savings economy to an investing economy, and then you look at the advent of digital wealth, which actually expands the opportunity set to be able to deliver solutions to clients who maybe were underserved from financial markets. And I think all of those align, to have a great forward for the indexing industry.
Lee Turner-Conn: It's interesting, because you think, well, isn't passive done? Like, you have the indexes, they market, they capture the market, is there that much more innovation to have, but you bring up digital and you bring up fixed income and active. It sounds like there's plenty of room still for innovation when you look across the clients.
Fiona Bassett: Yes, absolutely. And I mean, you point out digital as being a great example of that. Fixed income is further behind than equities, and got runway, but it's an established asset class in some way, and then you've got the rise of digital and the clear demand for tokenised assets. And, I think the importance actually of a provider such as ourselves providing the transparency and the governance framework around an asset class that needs not only that, but also the education around it, and is at a much earlier stage in the journey, so I think the wonderful thing about financial markets and investing is that the nature of it is dynamic, and there is always something new.
Lee Turner-Conn: That must present challenges, too. So what are some of the biggest challenges now that you're ten months in that you see with either in the role itself or within the index business?
Fiona Bassett: So, I think, as I say, we're still early in the overall development. I think there's a huge amount of need for education. That is true both even actually in established spaces, as well as the more nascent. And I think clearly, we see our role very much to provide that education and thought leadership to the market as much as it is to provide the products and the toolkit to help our clients manage risk and invest accordingly.
From a, you know, FTSE Russell perspective it’s our fortieth anniversary this year, but in many ways, I look at ourselves as a, as a startup when I think about FTSE Russell being part of the London Stock Exchange and our ability, I think, to deliver a really strong value proposition for our clients, or even stronger value proposition for our clients. That level of entrepreneurialism is kind of key, I think, to the way that I want us to operate in solving problems with our clients and partnering with them.
Lee Turner-Conn: I would assume that you're trying to set up a teams that will have that entrepreneurial attitude as well and try to solve those challenges. Always when a new leader comes in, I assume that's a challenge that you have to face. Do you have the right structure? How's that been?
Fiona Bassett: We have wonderful people. And I knew this as a client because it was very clear to me that I felt that, of all the index providers, and it sounds like I'm biased in this, but I can truly say this having been a client. I really felt that FTSE Russell were the ones who really had partnership at the core of their approach.
Lee Turner-Conn: I would agree.
Fiona Bassett: And I certainly can, can see this, having crossed the other side, as it were, and seeing how much this is innate in our DNA, and the desire that we have to lean in even more to that, I think, you know, the clients are at the heart of everything that we do. We focus on how do we help our clients grow and how do we help them solve the problems, and I think we will grow too.
Lee Turner-Conn: I’m reminded of something you said to me the first time I met you. We sat down, we had not formally met, I think we'd done a few meetings together, and you asked me to walk through my career, and I said, “Oh, I had this one job, it was my favourite job.” And you looked at me and you said, “I want this to be your favourite job.” And I was so struck by that, I was like, that's a fantastic attitude. Do you think about that every day, that everybody under you, you want them to, that's a hard challenge to get, to get everyone to be their favourite job. Is that the goal of yours?
Fiona Bassett: Yes, absolutely. I mean, I want FTSE to be fabulous, right? And I want us to be fabulous for our clients, and I want us to be a fabulous place for our people, where we can have really wonderful careers, where we provide the opportunity for mobility so people can have a varied set of experiences. Organisations are at their best when they have highly motivated people who really have a sense of a bigger purpose.
Lee Turner-Conn: So true.
Fiona Bassett: And feel that they are empowered and equipped organisationally to deliver on that. And then I think magical things can happen.
Lee Turner-Conn: Yes, I think that's absolutely true. I'm excited to try to make that happen with you. And what would you want our clients to say about us if they asked, if I said, “What do you think of FTSE Russell?” What's the ideal thing you want to hear?
Fiona Bassett: I'd love for them to say that we're their partner of choice. We're their first port of call if they've got a question, if they've got a challenge, if they've got an issue, if they want to make a connection.
I think one of the things that FTSE Russell can bring is, you know, we sit in the intersection of the ecosystem. We touch asset owners and asset managers and insurance companies and banks and hedge funds and exchanges. And I think that that provides us with a unique lens and a unique responsibility to connect some of those dots. The power of that community, I think, is something that can be really brought to bear to bring a very positive value for our clients.
Lee Turner-Conn: I completely agree. Well, I think that's a fantastic way to end on, that we become the partner of choice. So Fiona, thank you for your time today. It was an absolute pleasure speaking with you.
Fiona Bassett: Thank you very much, Lee.
