WFE Says Innovation and Investor Protection Reinforce Each Other in Financial Markets

 

PRESS RELEASE

WFE Says Innovation and Investor Protection Reinforce Each Other in Financial Markets 

London, 29 April 2026 – The World Federation of Exchanges (WFE), the global industry association for exchanges and clearing houses, has today published a paper examining how innovation has developed within well-regulated financial markets.

The Innovation Advantage in Well-Regulated Markets sets out how equity markets have expanded participation and technological sophistication while maintaining strong investor protection and regulatory standards. Drawing on decades of market evolution, the paper illustrates how many of the most significant financial innovations have emerged within frameworks designed to support trust, integrity and resilience. 

The paper demonstrates how innovation and investor protection can progress as complementary objectives. Regulators do not need to make a binary choice between one or the other and the two can be mutually reinforcing.

Nandini Sukumar, Chief Executive Officer of the WFE, said: “So-called innovation that weakens trust and integrity in markets or increases systemic risk isn’t true innovation. And it may move quickly, but it doesn’t last. The innovations that stand the test of time are those built within frameworks that investors can rely on.”

The paper also examines tokenisation and distributed ledger technology, noting that while existing exchange infrastructure is highly efficient in core trading, the greatest potential for these technologies is likely to lie in post-trade processes.

Richard Metcalfe, Head of Regulatory Affairs at the WFE said: “Regulators are being presented with a false choice between innovation and investor protection. We can, and we do, have both.”

James Auliffe, Senior Manager, Regulatory Affairs at the WFE, said: “Tokenisation can only succeed when it upgrades market structures without downgrading trust. The priority for policymakers should be to ensure that new technologies develop within frameworks that maintain investor protection and market integrity.”

The WFE paper illustrates how future market development should continue to build on these foundations.

Read The Innovation Advantage in Well-Regulated Markets

For more information, please contact:

Oonagh Shiel
Communications Manager
Email: communications@world-exchanges.org

About the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE):

Established in 1961, the WFE is the global industry association for exchanges and clearing houses. Headquartered in London, it represents the providers of over 250 pieces of market infrastructure, including standalone CCPs that are not part of exchange groups. Of our members, 39% are in Asia Pacific, 41% in EMEA and 19% in the Americas region. The WFE’s 74 member CCPs and clearing services collectively ensure that risk takers post some USD 1.4 trillion (equivalent) of resources to back their positions, in the form of initial margin and default fund requirements. WFE exchanges are home to over 41,000 listed companies, and the market capitalization of these entities is over $137 trillion; around $198.5 trillion in trading annually passes through WFE members (at end-2025). 

The WFE is the definitive source for exchange-traded statistics and publishes over 350 market data indicators. Its free statistics database stretches back 50 years and provides information and insight into developments on global exchanges. The WFE works with standard-setters, policy makers, regulators and government organisations around the world to support and promote the development of fair, transparent, stable and efficient markets. The WFE shares regulatory authorities’ goals of ensuring the safety and soundness of the global financial system. 

With extensive experience of developing and enforcing high standards of conduct, the WFE and its members support an orderly, secure, fair and transparent environment for investors; for companies that raise capital; and for all who deal with financial risk. We seek outcomes that maximise the common good, consumer confidence and economic growth. And we engage with policymakers and regulators in an open, collaborative way, reflecting the central, public role that exchanges and CCPs play in a globally integrated financial system. If you have any further questions, or wish to follow-up on our contribution, the WFE remains at your disposal. ^[1] 

Website: www.world-exchanges.org

Twitter: @TheWFE

^[1] Our EU Transparency Register number is 973382524675-69

---