Some of the world’s biggest investment managers have joined forces with the Treasury, the Financial Conduct Authority and Investment Association to accelerate the UK’s competitiveness, with tokenisation set as the Taskforce’s first major workstream.
The newly convened Investment Management Taskforce brings together senior policymakers and thirteen of the UK’s most influential asset and wealth managers in a significant government–industry alignment.
Chaired by Lucy Rigby KC MP, Economic Secretary to the Treasury, the group will focus on how the industry can drive growth and boost retail participation. Rigby said she was “very pleased to launch the Investment Management Taskforce with industry leaders, the FCA and the Investment Association,” adding: “This is about unlocking the next wave of growth… and keep[ing] the UK as one of the best places in the world to invest and do business.”
The Taskforce’s first workstream will centre on technology and the UK’s ambition to lead globally in tokenised funds. Led by Jon Cleborne, head of Europe at Vanguard, the group will build on the industry’s existing tokenisation blueprint.
Cleborne said: “Technology is at the heart of how the industry can deliver superior outcomes and experiences for UK investors… The UK has a real opportunity to lead globally in digital retail investment.”
Chris Cummings, chief executive of the Investment Association, highlighted the scale of the sector’s contribution, noting that investment managers “manage over £10trn of assets” and support “123,000 jobs”. He said the Taskforce “will accelerate progress in an area where the UK has a genuine opportunity to lead internationally by developing a world‑class digital ecosystem”.
Ann Prendergast, chair of the Investment Association and head of EMEA at State Street Investment Management, welcomed the government’s direct engagement at a moment when the industry “stands at a crossroads”.
She said the taskforce would help 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.”
The investment managers signed up to the initiative are Aberdeen, BlackRock, Blackstone, Fidelity International, JP Morgan Asset Management, Jupiter Asset Management, L&G, M&G Investments, Royal London Asset Management, Schroders, St. James’s Place, State Street Investment Management and Vanguard.
