At two General Meetings held January 29, members of the Association of Unit Trusts and Investment Funds (AUTIF) and the Fund Managers Association (FMA) voted to merge and establish a new association, to be known as the Investment Management Association (the IMA).
The IMA will become effective on 1 February 2002 and will represent companies with combined assets under management of over 2 trillion (2,000 billion). Alan Burton of Standard Life Investments, the outgoing Chairman of AUTIF, will be the first Chairman and Lindsay Tomlinson, Chief Executive of Barclays Global Investors, the outgoing Chairman of FMA, will be Deputy Chairman. The Chief Executive will be Dick Saunders, previously Director General of AUTIF.
Alan Burton, Chairman of AUTIF, said:
“I am delighted that our members have endorsed the establishment of the IMA. By combining the undoubted strengths of AUTIF and FMA, the merger will create a strong representative body for the whole of the investment industry, with a powerful voice both here in the UK and internationally.”
Lindsay Tomlinson, Chairman of FMA, added:
“This is the start of a new era for the representation of the 2 trillion asset management industry, one the most important parts of the UK financial sector. It will bring together AUTIF’s experience in representing the industry with the importance to the City and the UK of FMA’s member firms.”
In addition to the main Board, two Executive Committees will be established.
The Asset Management Committee will deal with issues affecting asset management, with initial membership comprising the current FMA Executive Committee, as well as a number of members of AUTIF’s existing Investment Committee.
The Investment Funds Committee will deal with issues affecting investment funds, particularly regulated collective investment schemes. This committee will consist of members of the current AUTIF Executive Committee.
Sub-committees and advisory groups will be established to cover other aspects of the Association’s business