Market Infrastructure Program: A perspective From the Mexican Stock Exchange

The Market Infrastructure Certificate (MIC) programme is a powerful learning experience. The World Federation of Exchanges and Bayes Business School (formerly Cass), a prestigious university in London, became partners to make it possible. The great support of both organisations, including the logistics, an interactive state of the art platform and the professional accompaniment during face-to-face sessions, broadened my perspective and knowledge. 

The programme awards a postgraduate level certificate offering a deep global overview of market infrastructure, not only to stock exchanges, but also to the stock market financial ecosystem, including central securities depositories (CSDs), central clearing counterparties (CCPs), and looking at different investor profiles, successfully guided to a diversified group of 20 participants, the majority representing stock exchanges, trading platforms and venture capital. The experience of discussing stock-market structures, challenges and opportunities, and the different paths taken in order to enhance the number of companies and investors, were some of the topics we discussed on a daily basis with smart people from places all over the world, including Kazakhstan, Brazil, Nigeria, the U.K., the U.S., Qatar, South Korea, Australia and Hong Kong. 

The programme consists of an online part and a residential component of one week in London and one week in Chicago. It is a dynamic combination in which networking was key. Given insights, and looking at trends, it provided a huge opportunity to connect and compare, and expand our knowledge, while examining topics such as the business models of different stock exchanges, exchange market size, investors, risk and best practices. 

During the MIC, one of the topics that was linked with exchanges was economies of scale. Many bourses have been seeking opportunities to buy other exchanges because of the huge opportunity to enhance profitability. We discussed the long-term trend of stock exchanges consolidating and the challenges companies face. Despite there often being significant differences between exchanges, the motivation is still there to gain liquidity, efficiency, productivity and growth amid increasing globalisation in capital markets.  

From my perspective, MIC helped me understand that traditional trading and the issuance of instruments are a cash out business that has been changing significantly in last two decades as new technology has been introduced. Future performance will be based on ever-more sophisticated technology and require a different path to obtain market share. Market data, the food for algorithms that trade 70% of the current volume, is also crucially important.  

One main challenge that exchanges are facing in many places, is the lack of companies listed. It’s well-known that 2023 wasn’t the best year in terms of IPOs worldwide, but in MIC I had the opportunity to discover so many initiatives that are seeking to create new access to SMEs. One great example of this is BEE4, the new Brazilian exchange, which is creating a new market focus on IPOs involving smaller amounts.  

Another topic we discussed deeply was money transfers, in which stock exchanges banks and other companies are highly connected. IT safety is clearly one of the most valuable features. 

In Chicago, it was interesting to watch each participant present its business, in a walk-through operation talking about revenue, execution, instruments, listed companies, market capitalisation, challenges and opportunities, and we learned through a multicultural, wide open, productive networking space.  

In London, we went through not only the traditional stock exchange model, but most importantly, market evolution, a journey in which technological development has a fundamental role in the outcome of new opportunities. A special part of the London week was a visit to a fintech hub sponsored by Barclays. We saw the transformation from traditional banking models to the automation and ease of new platforms in London and other countries that were developed for small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) to raise capital through stock markets. 

 It's well-know that environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues have become a priority to investors, and we touched on themes and related impacts, as well as the new instruments that have emerged from innovation. ESG was an important part of the London week, showing how reputation is now at stake if companies do not address the issues properly.     

The MIC programme is a great way for participants to add to their knowledge, generate ideas and analyse the industry. It offers a wide approach to possible new business opportunities in local markets, as well as the chance to form strategic alliances with valuable connections, and it has added value to my career and my personal development.