UK Re-Establishes Asset Management Taskforce

The Economic Secretary’s Asset Management Taskforce has been joined by five new senior executives from the UK’s world-class investment industry.

Hans Georgeson (CEO, Royal London Asset Management), Mark Murray (Senior Partner, Artemis), Joseph Pinto (CEO, M&G Asset Management), Nick Ring (CEO EMEA, Columbia Threadneedle) and Andrew Telfer (CEO, Baillie Gifford) have joined the Taskforce in the wake of the Chancellor’s Edinburgh Reforms, which aim to drive growth and competitiveness in the financial services sector.

The Economic Secretary has also launched a new Technology Working Group, which will run in parallel to the Taskforce to examine the impact of new technology on the asset management sector. The group – chaired by Michelle Scrimgeour (CEO, Legal and General Investment Management) – will work to articulate the benefits of technology for investors and industry, and will identify the main opportunities presented by technologies including tokenisation, artificial intelligence and distributed ledger technology.

The group’s membership will be drawn from Taskforce members, government and regulators, and wider non-asset management stakeholders. It will hold a series of meetings over the next year and subsequently produce a final report to the Taskforce.

The report will explain the group’s findings and contain guidance and recommendations for government, regulators and industry. Previous reports produced by the Taskforce – on the UK funds regime and on stewardship – have been very successful in progressing their respective agendas.

Andrew Griffith, Economic Secretary to the Treasury said:

“Investment management is of central importance to the UK economy and I am determined to help it continue to flourish.

“The UK is well-placed to take advantage of the opportunities presented by new technology in financial services, and I look forward to the Technology Working Group’s findings with great interest.”

Asset Management Taskforce members

• Stephen Cohen, Head of EMEA, BlackRock
• Chris Cummings, CEO, Investment Association
• Helen Dean, CEO, NEST
• Hans Georgeson, CEO, Royal London Asset Management
• Sean Hagerty, Managing Director of Europe, Vanguard
• Peter Harrison, CEO, Schroders
• Catherine Howarth, CEO, ShareAction
• Mark Murray, Senior Partner, Artemis
• Joseph Pinto, CEO, M&G Asset Management
• Anne Richards, CEO, Fidelity International
• Nick Ring, CEO EMEA, Columbia Threadneedle
• Michelle Scrimgeour, CEO, Legal & General Investment Management
• Andrew Telfer, CEO, Baillie Gifford
• Patrick Thomson, CEO EMEA, JP Morgan Asset Management
• Sarah Pritchard, Executive Director – Markets, Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)

Source: UK Government