Broker talks on the power of technology

In a rapidly changing business world, even students have the opportunity to make their mark. That was the message Tuesday as Douglas Atkin, president and chief executive officer of Instinet Corp., gave a lecture in College Hall entitled "Technology Innovation in the Global Securities Market." This event was sponsored by Wharton Innovation and Talent Seekers, a non-profit student-run organization devoted to stimulating innovation among University students and to increasing awareness and protection of student inventions. Atkin joined Instinet in 1984 and during his tenure has helped design customized trading strategies for many of its largest U.S. institutional accounts. Under his leadership, Instinet International's revenues grew by more than 1,500 percent between 1992 and 1997. Instinet is the world's largest agency brokerage firm and uses technology in securities trading and research to bring issuers and investors closer together. Atkin opened his talk with a discussion of the role of change in the global equity market. "I feel very fortunate to live in a time when the shape of the financial services industry? can be materially changed and radically changed, and will be radically changed in the next two years," he said. He then suggested that, contrary to popular opinion, the past has very little impact on the present. He said the leaders of any company or organization must look to the future in making decisions concerning the present. "In developing my view of the future of the equities markets, what I've tried to do as much as possible --I don't think we can ever do it wholly -- is throw off the shackles of the past to the greatest extent possible," Atkin said. Before continuing, he acknowledged that his views are considered somewhat controversial in the securities industry, particularly among more traditional investment banks. Atkin said the global payment system has been almost completely transformed over the last 30 years. "Now, especially with the advent of the euro currency," he said, "the world is a much smaller place financially and foreign exchange is far less complex than it's ever been." In closing, he suggested ways in which he thinks the market structure needs to evolve and then took questions from members of the audience to gain student feedback on his suggestions. "These are exciting times and I look forward to things changing very rapidly and hopefully our company not only taking advantage of those changes but helping to create the change in the first place," Atkin said at the conclusion of his speech. "As a group, we are trying to promote innovation among students." said Karl Schulze, a Wharton sophomore and one of the 11 current members of the WITS executive board. "Therefore, we were very fortunate to have Mr. Atkin come and speak to us and to look at the financial sector in such a revolutionary way."