Z/Yen

Z/Yen Group

Industry	Consultancy, Think-tank
Founded	1994 (1994)
Headquarters	City of London
Key people	Michael Mainelli Ian Harris Mark Yeandle
Website	www.zyen.com

Z/Yen is a commercial think-tank, consultancy and venture firm headquartered in the City of London. It works in the financial services, technology and voluntary sectors on a range of projects from research to performance review and strategic management. Founded in 1994 and with associates around the world, Z/Yen has developed collaborative projects such as the London Accord, the Global Financial Centres Index, the Global Intellectual Property Index for Taylor Wessing and Taskforce 2000 (the UK industry response to the Millennium Bug). The London Accord and GFCI are constituent programmes of Z/Yen’s Long Finance initiative, which seeks to answer the question “When would we know our financial system is working?”

Z/Yen conducts market research and intelligence. It publishes most of its research freely on its own website.

History

Early Years (1994-2000)

In its formative years Z/Yen’s research and consulting included work for British Gas, the London Stock Exchange, the Defense Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA, now DSTL and QinetiQ) and Bloomberg, amongst others. Z/Yen played a major part in the founding of Taskforce 2000, the private sector initiative designed to alert people to the Millennium Bug. In 1996, Z/Yen established the £1.9M Financial Laboratory, an innovative joint venture between BZW (now Barclays Capital), Royal and Sun Alliance, The London Stock Exchange, DERA (now QinetiQ), City University, City University Business School, The Worshipful Company of Information Technologists and Silicon Graphics. This project won a £750,000 DTI Foresight Challenge award later that year.

In the late nineties Z/Yen’s not-for-profit sector work became a major part of the business, with extended work for Cancer Research Campaign, BEN, The Children's Society and others, plus significant gains at British Heart Foundation and a major trade union. Other work included undertaking a major pan-European study into the market for OTC derivatives outsourcing.

Turn of the Millennium (2000-2005)

2001 saw the company receive significant recognition in the public arena, with a version of Z/Yen’s bourse game played at St James’ Palace as a part of a Marine Stewardship Council event; prizes were presented by HRH The Prince of Wales. Z/Yen launched PropheZy – a predictive Dynamic, Anomaly & Pattern Response (DAPR) system – in January 2003, receiving a £45,000 Smart Award from the Department of Trade and Industry. VizZy, a complementary visualisation system for PropheZy, was launched a year later.

Benchmarking became a significant section of Z/Yen’s work during this period, with record numbers of investment banks and brokerages participating in 2003.

The Mid-Late 2000's (2005-2010)

In 2005 Z/Yen was appointed by the Institute of Fundraising, with partner Business in the Community, to run the enquiry line and information centre for the Payroll Giving Centre programme funded by the Home Office. Z/Yen created its flagship Global Financial Centres Index for the City of London Corporation in 2007 (bringing it in-house in 2010). 2007 also saw Z/Yen sell its investment banking cost-per-trade benchmarking unit to Aon, and launch the London Accord. This initiative, with the help of over 50 financial service sector contributors, looks to provide an open-source research resource on finance and environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues. A year later, Z/Yen launched a way of measuring the immeasurable, the Global Intellectual Property Index, for the legal firm Taylor Wessing.

Next, Z/Yen founded the ExtZy game – creating a stockmarket from the internet – and posing the question, “When would we know our financial system is working?” through the Long Finance initiative. Research has included Index-linked carbon bonds, non-monetary trade and Confidence Accounting.

Since Bitcoin's release in 2009, there has been a considerable amount of interest in the underlying distributed ledger technology (aka blockchain) which facilitates its transactions. Z/Yen's executive chairman Michael Mainelli, in association with Professor Mike Smith, has been working with mutual distributed ledgers, or MDLs, since the early 90's. Due to this expertise and recent interest in MDLs, Z/Yen shifted much of its research and resources towards this developing technology and community.

The Early 2010's (2010-2014)

Towards the end of 2011, Z/Yen decided to strengthen its international presence by establishing a Swiss office, headed up by Chiara von Gunten in Geneva. The 2011 Long Finance Spring Conference was hosted by Bank of America Merrill Lynch in March and HSBC hosted the Long Finance Autumn Conference in November. Furthermore, in this year Z/Yen completed a major research study for the City of London Corporation on non-monetary trade – Capacity Trade and Credit: Emerging Architectures for Commerce and Money. Also, Michael Mainelli and Ian Harris launch their third book, The Price of Fish, published by Nicholas Brealey Publishing, with a book signing at Gresham College.

The 2012 Long Finance Spring and Autumn Conferences are hosted by Bank of America Merrill Lynch and University College London respectively, with other Long Finance events taking place throughout the year. Z/Yen is awarded the Platinum Quality Mark for 2012 as a result of the staff’s continued contribution to charity through payroll giving. The Price of Fish is awarded the Gold Medal in the Finance, Investment and Economics category of the 2012 Independent Publisher Book Awards.

Z/Yen publishes "Backing Market Forces: How to Make Voluntary Standards Markets Work for Financial Services Regulation" in 2013, following a joint research project conducted with BSI and the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment.

In February 2014, “City Walks: Finance At Your Feet” was published on iBooks. Z/Yen’s maritime experience sails forth with the 2014 publication on “Maritime Financial Centres”.

Recent Years

In 2015 Long Finance publishes four reports that gain significant attention:

1. Uses And Abuses Of Discount Rates A Primer For The Wary

2. Promoting UK Cyber Prosperity: Public-Private Cyber-Catastrophe Reinsurance

3. Financing the Transition: Sustainable Infrastructure in Cities

4. Comparative Regulatory Environments - A Comparison Of Financial Services Regulation In Eight Jurisdictions

Also, in 2015, The InterChainZ project develops several implementations of mutual distributed ledgers (aka blockchain technology) and publishes a video. Additionally, Z/Yen launches Distributed Futures, a senior forum dedicated to technology and disruption, for subjects such as mutual distributed ledgers (aka blockchain technology) and artificial intelligence.

Having launched the Global Financial Centres Index in 2007, Z/Yen publishes its 20th edition in 2016. Long Finance also publishes three extensive reports this year:

1. The Missing Links In The Chains? Mutual Distributed Ledger (aka blockchain) Standards

2. Chain Reaction: How Blockchain Technology Might Transform Wholesale Insurance

3. The Quiet Insurer: Mobility of the 'Other' Financial Service

Distributed Futures, an open source research programme for Smart Ledgers and new technologies, publishes two reports in 2017:

1. Responsibility Without Power? The Governance Of Mutual Distributed Ledgers (aka Blockchains)

2. Smart Ledger Geostamping - Steps Towards Interoperability & Standards

Several other key events occurred in 2017. Financial Centre Futures - The Global Financial Centres Index 21 and The Global Financial Centres Index 22 is published in March and September respectively, along with the following special report: Trends And Innovations In Financial Services. Linda Cook joins the Z/Yen Group Board of Directors and Mark Yeandle is appointed Director of Z/Yen Partners. Z/Yen is awarded the Platinum Quality Mark as a result of the staff’s continued contribution to charity through payroll giving. Long Finance publishes five further reports:

1. A Primer On The Risk Structure And Contractual Accrual Rate Of DB Pensions

2. Security And Sustainability In Defined Benefit Pension Schemes: A Response To The Department Of Work And Pensions Consultation

3. Financial Innovations & Sustainable Development - A Paper For The Business & Sustainable Development Commission

4. From Slips To Smart Contracts: Intelligent Technology In The London Wholesale Insurance Market

5. A Wholesale Insurance Executive's Guide To Smart Contracts

On the 14th of March 2018, the Global Green Finance Index (GGFI) is launched in Brussels. The GGFI ranks the world’s financial centres according to perceptions of the quality and depth of their green finance offerings. It's second edition is published in September. Long Finance's Distributed Futures publishes 8 reports and, in conjunction with Financial Centre Futures launches one more index. The Smart Jurisdictions Index (SJI) aims to help investors, governments, and regulators track the attractiveness of financial centres for new technologies and products by measuring how attuned financial centres are to attracting new lines of business such as fintech or new financial products.

Long Finance's Eternal Coin's “Economic Simulation And Control Of Cryptocurrencies” project develops the technical framework for a simulator, supported by two workshops and the publication of a report. Financial Centre Futures - The Global Financial Centres Index 23 and The Global Financial Centres Index 24 is published in March and September respectively, along with the China Financial Centres Index 10. Z/Yen is awarded the Diamond Quality Mark as a result of the staff’s continued contribution to charity through payroll giving.

Publications

Books

• Clean Business Cuisine: Now and Z/Yen - (2000)
• Information Technology for the Not-for-profit Sector - ICSA Publishing (2001)
• Expertise: Search and Deploy - (2003)
• The Road To Long Finance: A Systems View Of The Credit Scrunch - (2009) (with Bob Giffords)
• The Price of Fish - Nicholas Brealey Publishing (2011)

Long Finance Reports

Title	Author(s)	Year	Publisher
Global Green Finance Index Case Study: São Paulo	Simon Mills, Mike Wardle, Greg Ford	2019	Long Finance And Financial Centre Futures (April 2019), 13 pages
The Global Green Finance Index 3	Mike Wardle, Greg Ford, Benoît Lallemand, Professor Michael Mainelli & Simon Mills	2019	Long Finance and Financial Centre Futures (March 2019), 112 pages
The Global Financial Centres Index 25	Mark Yeandle, Mike Wardle	2019	Long Finance & Global Financial Centres (March 2019), 55 pages. Produced by Z/Yen in Partnership with CDI
To Be, To Have, To Know: Smart Ledgers & Identity Authentication	Hugh Morris	2019	Long Finance (February 2019), 89 pages
Financial Centres Likely To Become More Significant	Mark Yeandle	2019	Long Finance (March 2019), 50 pages
All Eyes On Astana	Mark Yeandle	2018	Z/Yen Group Limited (December 2018), 14 pages
Information Rules: Smart Ledger Architectures & Distributed Permissions	Maury Shenk and Michael Mainelli	2018	Long Finance (November 2018), 63 pages.
Smart Centres Index	Greg Williams, Mike Wardle	2018	Long Finance (November 2018), 29 pages
Cyber-Catastrophe Insurance-Linked Securities On Smart Ledgers	Sam Carter and Michael Mainelli	2018	Long Finance (November 2018), 75 pages
Focus On Busan	Mark Yeandle	2018	Financial Centre Futures (October 2018), 12 pages
The Global Green Finance Index 2	Mike Wardle, Greg Ford, Professor Michael Mainelli, Simon Mills	2018	Z/Yen Group and Finance Watch (September 2018), 82 pages
The Global Financial Centres Index 24	Mark Yeandle, Mike Wardle, Professor Michael Mainelli	2018	Z/Yen Group and the China Development Institute (September 2018), 55 pages
The Global Financial Centres Index 24 (Chinese Edition) 第24期全球金融中心指数	Mark Yeandle, Mike Wardle, Professor Michael Mainelli	2018	Z/Yen Group and the China Development Institute (September 2018), 55 pages
China Financial Centres Index 10	The China Development Institute team in Shenzhen	2018	China Development Institute and Z/Yen Group (September 2018), 95 pages
Smart Ledgers & Collective Defined Contribution Pensions	Iain Clacher, Con Keating, and David McKee	2018	Long Finance (July 2018), 47 pages
Control Frameworks For Cryptocurrencies: An Initial Evaluation	Matthew Leitch and Aleksandar Matanovic	2018	Long Finance (July 2018), 91 pages.
Timestamping Smart Ledgers - Comparable, Universal, Traceable, Immune	Sam Carter	2018	Long Finance (June 2018), 55 pages.
Economic Simulation Of Cryptocurrencies	Michael Mainelli, Matthew Leitch, and Dionysios Demetis	2018	Journal of Financial Transformation, Number 47, Capco (April 2018), pages 89-100.
The Economic Impact Of Smart Ledgers On World Trade	Centre for Economics and Business Research	2018	The Worshipful Company of World Traders and Long Finance (April 2018).
The Global Financial Centres Index 23 (Chinese Edition)	Mark Yeandle	2018	Z/Yen Group and the China Development Institute (March 2018), 45 pages.
The Global Financial Centres Index 23	Mark Yeandle	2018	Z/Yen Group and the China Development Institute (March 2018), 45 pages.
Liquidity Or Leakage - Plumbing Problems In Cryptocurrencies	Rodney Greene and Bob McDowall	2018	Long Finance (March 2018), 61 pages.
The Global Green Finance Index 1	Greg Ford, Mireille Martini, Simon Mills, and Mike Wardle	2018	Z/Yen Group and Finance Watch (March 2018), 54 pages.
Get Smart About Scandals: Past Lessons For Future Finance	Professor Tim Connell and Bob McDowall	2018	Long Finance (March 2018), 102 pages.
The Quantum Countdown: Quantum Computing And The Future Of Smart Ledger Encryption	Maury Shenk	2018	Long Finance (February 2018), 61 pages.
Smart Ledger Geostamping - Steps Towards Interoperability & Standards	Michael Mainelli and James Pitcher	2017	Long Finance (December 2017), 20 pages.
A Primer On The Risk Structure And Contractual Accrual Rate Of DB Pensions	Iain Clacher, Con Keating, and Anna Tilba	2017	The University of Leeds, the European Federation of Financial Analysts Societies (EFFAS), Newcastle University, and Long Finance (October 2017), 26 pages.
The Global Financial Centres Index 22 (Chinese Edition)	Mark Yeandle	2017	Z/Yen Group and the China Development Institute (September 2017), 48 pages.
The Global Financial Centres Index 22	Mark Yeandle	2017	Z/Yen Group and the China Development Institute (September 2017), 48 pages.
Security And Sustainability In Defined Benefit Pension Schemes: A Response To The Department Of Work And Pensions Consultation	Iain Clacher, Con Keating, and Andrew Slater	2017	The University of Leeds, the European Federation of Financial Analysts Societies (EFFAS), and Long Finance (May 2017), 125 pages.
Financial Innovations & Sustainable Development - A Paper For The Business & Sustainable Development Commission	Michael Mainelli & Simon Mills	2017	Long Finance (Released for Publication January 2018), 50 pages.
The Global Financial Centres Index 21	Mark Yeandle	2017	Z/Yen Group and the China Development Institute (March 2017), 48 pages.
L'Innovation Financiere Au Service Du Climat: Les Obligations A Impact Environnemental	Abdeldjellil Bouzidi and Michael Mainelli	2017	Revue Banque (Février 2017), 128 pages.
From Slips To Smart Contracts: Intelligent Technology In The London Wholesale Insurance Market	Michael Mainelli and Bernard Manson	2017	Z/Yen Group, Long Finance, and The London Market Group (January 2017), 66 pages.
A Wholesale Insurance Executive's Guide To Smart Contracts	Michael Mainelli and Bernard Manson	2017	Z/Yen Group, Long Finance, and The London Market Group (January 2017), 16 pages.
Trends And Innovations In Financial Services	Mark Yeandle	2017	Z/Yen Group and the Toronto Financial Services Alliance. (January 2017), 34 pages.
The Global Financial Centres Index 20	Mark Yeandle	2016	Z/Yen Group and the China Development Institute (September 2016), 56 pages.
Chain Reaction: How Blockchain Technology Might Transform Wholesale Insurance	Michael Mainelli and Bernard Manson	2016	PwC and Z/Yen Group, Long Finance (August 2016), 58 pages.
The Quiet Insurer: Mobility of the 'Other' Financial Service	Shirley Beglinger	2016	Long Finance, (July 2016), 40 pages.
The Impact And Potential Of Blockchain On The Securities Transaction Lifecycle	Michael Mainelli and Alistair Milne	2016	SWIFT Institute (May 2016), 80 pages.
The Global Financial Centres Index 19	Mark Yeandle	2016	Z/Yen Group (April 2016).
Sharing Ledgers For Sharing Economies: An Exploration Of Mutual Distributed Ledgers (aka blockchain technology)	Michael Mainelli and Mike Smith	2015	Journal of Financial Perspectives, Volume 3, Number 3, EY Global Financial Services Institute (December 2015), 44 pages.
The Global Financial Centres Index 18	Mark Yeandle	2015	Qatar Financial Centre Authority and Z/Yen Group (September 2015), 55 pages.
Uses And Abuses Of Discount Rates A Primer For The Wary	Dr Nick Goddard	2015	Long Finance (September 2015), 43 pages.
Promoting UK Cyber Prosperity: Public-Private Cyber-Catastrophe Reinsurance	Michael Mainelli, Chiara von Gunten and Mark Duff	2015	Z/Yen Group, Long Finance, co-sponsored by APM Group (July 2015), 50 pages.
Financing the Transition: Sustainable Infrastructure in Cities	Chiara von Gunten and Michael Mainelli	2015	Z/Yen Group and WWF, Long Finance (March 2015), 80 pages.
The Global Financial Centres Index 17	Mark Yeandle and Michael Mainelli	2015	Qatar Financial Centre Authority and Z/Yen Group, (March 2015), 52 pages.
Chain Of A Lifetime: How Blockchain Technology Might Transform Personal Insurance	Michael Mainelli and Chiara von Gunten	2014	Z/Yen Group, Long Finance (December 2014), 51 pages.
Maritime Financial Centres	Mark Yeandle	2014	Z/Yen Group and Busan Metropolitan City (November 2014), 18 pages.
Opportunities for Standards in Investment & Asset Management	Michael Mainelli, Chiara von Gunten and Therese Kieve	2014	BSI and Z/Yen Group, Long Finance (October 2014), 20 pages.
Opportunities for Standards in Insurance	Michael Mainelli, Chiara von Gunten and Therese Kieve	2014	BSI and Z/Yen Group, Long Finance (October 2014), 20 pages.
Opportunities for Standard Development in Insurance and Investment & Asset Management	Chiara von Gunten, Therese Kieve and Michael Mainelli	2014	BSI and Long Finance, October 2014
The Global Financial Centres Index 16	Mark Yeandle and Michael Mainelli	2014	Qatar Financial Centre Authority (September 2014), 52 pages.
The Global Financial Centres Index 15	Mark Yeandle and Nick Danev	2014	Qatar Financial Centre Authority (March 2014), 58 pages.
Backing Market Forces: How To Make Voluntary Standards Markets Work For Financial Services Regulation	Michael Mainelli and Chiara von Gunten	2013	BSI, Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment and Long Finance, (November 2013), 72 pages.
The Global Financial Centres Index 14	Mark Yeandle and Nick Danev	2013	Qatar Financial Centre Authority (September 2013), 53 pages.
The Global Financial Centres Index 13	Mark Yeandle and Chiara von Gunten	2013	Qatar Financial Centre Authority (March 2013), 48 pages.
Keep Your Lid On: A Financial Analyst's View of the Cost and Valuation of DB Pension Provision	Con Keating	2013	Long Finance, Finance Shorts series, (March 2013), 31 pages
The Global Financial Centres Index 12	Mark Yeandle and Nick Danev	2012	Qatar Financial Centre Authority (September 2012), 48 pages.
Confidence Accounting: A Proposal	Ian Harris, Michael Mainelli and Jan-Peter Onstwedder	2012	Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment, Long Finance, Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (July 2012), 66 pages.
Success of the Fittest: A Swift Survey of Shifts in Asset Management	Bob McDowall	2012	Long Finance, Financial Centre Futures (July 2012), 40 pages.
The Global Financial Centres Index 11	Mark Yeandle, Jeremy Horne and Nick Danev	2012	Qatar Financial Centre Authority (March 2012), 48 pages.
In Safe Hands? The Future of Financial Services	Gill Ringland, SAMI Institute	2011	Long Finance, Financial Centre Futures, (December 2011), 66 pages
Don't Stop Believing: The State and Future of UK Occupational Pensions	Con Keating	2011	Long Finance, Finance Shorts series, (November 2011), 56 pages
The Global Financial Centres Index 10	Mark Yeandle, Jeremy Horne and Nick Danev	2011	Qatar Financial Centre Authority (September 2011), 40 pages.
The Great Game: Clustering in Wholesale Financial Services	Dr Malcolm Cooper	2011	Long Finance, Financial Centre Futures, (June 2011), 50 pages
The Global Financial Centres Index 9	Mark Yeandle, Jeremy Horne, Nick Danev	2011	Qatar Financial Centre Authority (March 2011), 40 pages.
Finance, Biodiversity And Managed Ecosystems: Where's The Data?	Chiara von Gunten and Dr Malcolm Cooper	2011	Natural Environment Research Council, Financial Services Knowledge Transfer Network and Z/Yen Group
Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow: The Future of Pensions	Con Keating	2010	Long Finance, Finance Shorts series, (November 2010), 68 pages
Finance And Water: Where's The Data?	Leonor Fishman and Dr Malcolm Cooper	2010	Natural Environment Research Council, Financial Services Knowledge Transfer Network and Z/Yen Group
The Global Financial Centres Index 8	Mark Yeandle, Jeremy Horne, Nick Danev, Ben Morris and Richard Leeds	2010	Qatar Financial Centre Authority (October 2010), 40 pages.
Finance And Forestry: Where's The Data?	Stephanie Rochford and Dr Malcolm Cooper	2010	Natural Environment Research Council, Financial Services Knowledge Transfer Network and Z/Yen Group
In Search Of The Eternal Coin: A Long Finance View Of History	Dr Malcolm Cooper	2010	Long Finance, Eternal Brevities series, (March 2010), 30 pages
Time To Stop Betting The House: Mortgages, Resilience and the Long Finance	David Steven	2010	Long Finance, Finance Shorts series, (March 2010), 30 pages
The Global Financial Centres Index 7	Mark Yeandle, Michael Mainelli, Jeremy Horne, Nick Danev and Ben Morris	2010	City of London Corporation (March 2010), 38 pages.
The Global Financial Centres Index 6	Mark Yeandle, Jeremy Horne, Nick Danev and Ben Morris	2009	City of London Corporation (September 2009), 30 pages.
The Road To Long Finance: A Systems View Of The Credit Scrunch	Michael Mainelli and Bob Giffords	2009	Centre for the Study of Financial Innovation, ISBN 978-0-9561904-4-4, 62 pages.
The Global Financial Centres Index 5	Mark Yeandle, Jeremy Horne, Nick Danev and Alexander Knapp	2009	City of London Corporation (March 2009), 52 pages.
The Global Financial Centres Index 4	Mark Yeandle, Jeremy Horne and Nick Danev	2008	City of London Corporation (September 2008), 16 pages.
The Global Financial Centres Index 3	Mark Yeandle, Alexander Knapp, Michael Mainelli and Ian Harris	2008	City of London Corporation (March 2008), 74 pages.
The Global Financial Centres Index 2	Mark Yeandle, Michael Mainelli and Ian Harris	2007	City of London Corporation (September 2007), 78 pages.
The Global Financial Centres Index 1	Michael Mainelli and Mark Yeandle	2007	City of London Corporation (March 2007), 64 pages.
The London Accord	Michael Mainelli and Jan-Peter Onstwedder (eds)	2007	Z/Yen Group and City of London Corporation, (September 2007), 80 pages

Articles

A regularly updated list of articles can be found in the 'Words' section of the Z/Yen Website.

Regular Indices

• Global Financial Centres Index
• Global Intellectual Property Index
• Global Green Finance Index

External links

• Official website
• The Economist citation October 2009