The Treasury, the Financial Conduct Authority, the Investment Association and 13 asset and wealth management firms have launched a taskforce to come up with a plan for how the investment industry can improve the economic growth and competitiveness of the UK.

The Investment Management Taskforce is chaired by economic secretary to the Treasury Lucy Rigby KC and had its inaugural meeting on Thursday. The FCA is represented by its interim executive director for markets, Simon Walls.

The IA said the taskforce will look at progress made against the government’s Financial Services Competitiveness and Growth Strategy, “with a strong focus on encouraging further retail investment”.

This government strategy centres on deregulation while promoting greater retail investment and supporting fintech. It aims to make the UK “the most attractive place for: managing investments; insurance and reinsurance; and continuing our strength as a global leader in sustainable finance”.

The newly launched group is tasked with overseeing specific workstreams to drive progress in certain areas, starting with a workstream on technology, chaired by Jon Cleborne, head of Europe at Vanguard. This will “take forward the fund tokenisation work completed by the previous iteration of the Taskforce, with the aim of making the UK the global digital investment centre”, the IA noted. 

Rigby said: “This is about unlocking the next wave of growth: using the UK’s strength in investment management to get more capital into productive assets, boost retail investment, and keep the UK as one of the best places in the world to invest and do business.”

The UK’s investment management industry handles more than £10tn of assets, invests £1.6tn in the economy and supports 123,000 jobs, said Chris Cummings, chief executive of the IA.

“The Taskforce is a signal of the importance that this government places on our industry and our role in their wider economic agenda,” he said. “With a dedicated technology workstream, the Taskforce will accelerate progress in an area where the UK has a genuine opportunity to lead internationally by developing a worldclass digital ecosystem.” 

The investment industry is at a crossroads, argued Ann Prendergast, who chairs the Investment Association and heads up EMEA at State Street Investment Management, citing “significant opportunities and potential challenges alike in the near future”. 

“Against this backdrop, I heartily welcome the formation of the Taskforce and the clear efforts of the UK government to engage directly with the sector. By helping all parts of the investment ecosystem to work more effectively together, we’re best placed to ensure that standards and industry practices alike evolve in keeping with the changing landscape, maximising the opportunities represented by trends such as digitisation and the democratisation of investment products,” she said.  

The industry has been under pressure from UK pension fund consolidation and a fall in asset values, with higher fee asset classes in private markets requiring more niche expertise and representing only small proportions of investor portfolios. Meanwhile, AI threatens to disrupt traditional investment and wealth management models, potentially eroding fees further, with fears of job losses in the sector.  

The members of the Investment Management Taskforce are: