Speaking at the Investment Management Association’s AGM dinner, outgoing Chairman Simon Davies focused on the challenges and opportunities ahead for the investment management industry.
Davies highlighted two challenges for the future:
The first challenge is for the government to foster more saving in the UK. The announcement that ISAs were to remain a permanent part of the savings landscape was welcomed and the government’s commitment to establishing personal accounts for those without access to occupational schemes was heralded as a good foundation on which to build.
The second challenge was that of maintaining the momentum to ensure that the commission’s proposals for a single market in asset management lead to an efficient and competitive market that will benefit both investors and the industry, Davies said.
The coming period will be particularly critical as draft legislation makes its way through the process, and Davies said the fund management industry looks forward to working with a strong and engaged Treasury negotiating team.
“The UK is of course the premier asset management centre in Europe, and we want to keep it that way,” Davies said. “One area of vulnerability is that we only account for less than 10 percent of the authorised funds market. There is a real opportunity to grow this further if we have the right regulatory and tax environments. Government and industry can work together to make the UK market a stronger and more competitive force in Europe.”