WMA Summit 2016 – Promoting a Culture of Investment – 10th November 2016

The Wealth Management Association (WMA) hosted its Annual Summit in London and gathered leading industry experts to speak on a wide range of trends impacting the future of the wealth management industry. Topics included cyber security, Brexit and, of course, the US election, and the impact of fintech. The WMA is the leading industry body for the private client investment community, and its members look after in excess of £760 billion of the country’s wealth.

Explaining the thinking behind the event, Liz Field, WMA Chief Executive, commented: “Today’s investment landscape is full of political and economic uncertainty and change.  We’re hoping that this event will be a fantastic opportunity for lively debate, discussion and reflection amongst peers on the developments for our industry.  The theme of responsible stewardship and promotion of a culture of investment is essential to the growth of the industry and UK Plc.”

With the US election results fresh in the mind, Iain Anderson, Executive Chairman of the Cicero Group, was interviewed by Daisy McAndrew, ITV’s Former Economics Editor & Chief Political Correspondent, on the Brexit Landscape and the impact of the US election on the market. With volatility and uncertainty within the political arena the discussion centred on what it means for investors.

Iain commented: “In America, there was a similarity of what happened in the UK in June. On a practical level for trade negotiations, it puts a fascinating dynamic on Brexit and Britain’s relationship with America. As far as the markets are concerned we’ve seen a slight move but it’s not the calamity that was originally forecasted – traditional analysis is broken, today it is micro not macro analysis.”

The topic of encouraging an investment culture, particularly among millennials, was tackled by a panel comprised of representatives from Orbis Access (UK) Ltd, HM Treasury, Goldman Sachs Asset Management International and AJ Bell. The theme of engaging the next generation has been a key topic of work for the WMA and the Summit also saw the launch of their Millennial Forum findings and report to the industry.

Panellist David Thomas, Deputy Director, Pensions & Savings, HM Treasury commented:  “The Government is increasing the level of financial education and changed the curriculum to increase the level of financial awareness in schools. There’s also interesting financial developments with products being put on the market such as the junior ISA but there’s still a lot to be done to promote a culture and habit of saving”.

It was a theme picked up on in a later panel discussion by Richard Charnock, CEO Standard Life, Sarah Soar, Head of Investment and J M Finn and Justin Urquhart Stewart, Head of Corporate Development at Seven Investment Management. They talked about the gamification of investment in order to attract the younger generation. “It’s about making our world make sense to them. There needs to be a balance between digital and the human interaction which clients crave.”

The topic of technology was frequently addressed. The afternoon began with three breakout sessions around blockchain, robo-advice and changing customer expectations.

Megan Butler, Executive Director of Supervision, Investment Wholesale & Specialists Division at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) gave a UK Regulatory update focusing on the core tenets of good governance, suitability and appropriate Anti-Money Laundering precautions. She also discussed the up-and-coming issue of RegTech. Highlighting that the number of investments sold without advice has risen by 40 per cent in the last four years, Ms Butler argued that there is a clear need for innovation and improved standards.

Megan Butler commented:
“The FCA see competition and innovation as imperative to the development of the market and we actively encourage and support both innovators and established players. There is a need for a more responsive and agile regulatory system which promotes competition and innovation.”

In a keynote from Nikhil Rathi, the CEO of the London Stock Exchange plc & Director of International Development at LSEG, he emphasised that Retail Investors must be at the front and centre of UK Capital Markets. “In order to promote a culture of investment, there are three things which need to be addressed – education, accessibility to the market and cost of trading on the market.”

The Summit was closed by WMA chairman Tim Ingram who thanked all the speakers for their “insight and meaningful discussion around regulation, technology and numerous other challenges impacting firms and highlighted WMA role in supporting the wealth management industry. He also thanked the event sponsors which included Iress, Salesforce, Vanguard and Euroclear for supported us to make this event a success.”

-Ends-