July/Aug 2019
BRIAN TORA
A SENSE OF
SECURITY There is little doubt that the world of financial planning and advice has becoming increasingly driven by technological advance. However, despite all the benefits this brings, Brian Tora reminds us of some of the deeper concerns around making sure that efficient and effective security is always at the forefront of decisions and processes
In May I was privileged to be invited to host the JM Finn Annual Investment Conference in London. Held in the remarkably well equipped (for conference purposes, even if the medical equipment on show was somewhat dated) Royal College of Physicians, the theme on this occasion was Security – not, you might think, directly allied to investment, though pertinent to us all.
We are, in the personal investment world, at the fore front of potential victims of financial cyber crime
In fact it had more relevance to the business of investment management than you might think. Aside from companies engaged in security (not that any were mentioned at the conference), how we as investment managers and portfolio constructors engage with our clients demands a high level
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of secure communication and for safeguards to be in place to ensure our clients’ investments and their personal data cannot be accessed or compromised in any way. The conference kicked off with Frank Gardner, the BBC security correspondent, who is confined to a wheelchair following an ambush in Riyadh some 15 years ago when his camera-man colleague was killed. His view was that of the wider observer of global terrorism, but his message was surprisingly upbeat. It seems we are getting better at spotting where the real risks lie, so being caught in a terrorist atrocity is perhaps less likely these days. This rather more optimistic approach was echoed by the retired senior police officer whose session followed. A former member of the counter terrorism branch of Scotland Yard, he had been an adviser to COBRA – the Cabinet committee that seeks to direct the governments approach to threats to national security. He was honest enough to point to the mistakes that had been made in the past, but again stated that we had learned from these and were in a better informed position today to deal with threats.
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