Featured: PIMFA celebrates winners of its 2024 Diversity & Inclusion Awards 14 October 2024
PIMFA celebrates winners of its 2024 Diversity & Inclusion Awards
PIMFA celebrated the inspiring stories and initiatives from across the wealth management and the financial advice sector last week as it held its annual Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) Awards. We were joined by 300 professionals at the InterContinental Hotel in London, as we honoured outstanding achievements in diversity, inclusion, and equity across our industry. Click here to see the highlights.
We were thrilled by the outstanding standard of the entries this year and the judges were very impressed with the wide ranging and fantastic initiatives demonstrating excellence and good practice.
Since launching in 2021, the awards have highlighted inspiring stories, driving innovation and progress towards a more inclusive and diverse industry.
To read the press release and view the winners click here
New PIMFA Associate member - Titanbay
We are delighted to welcome our new member Titanbay, who says: "we provides wealth managers with seamless access to top-tier private market investments, traditionally reserved for institutional investors. Our platform offers exclusive opportunities with leading fund managers, helping wealth managers deliver superior portfolio performance for their clients. Supported by robust operations, we streamline the entire investment process, from client onboarding to real-time reporting, ensuring efficiency and ease at every stage.
Underpinned by best-in-class technology, Titanbay integrates effortlessly with existing systems, offering customisation, scalability, and security. With our combination of top-quality investments, strong operational support, and innovative technology, wealth managers can enhance their client offerings and achieve long-term success".
Richard Adler, Chief Commercial Officer at PIMFA, said: “We are delighted to welcome onboard Titanbay to offer our member firms digital access to private markets.”
The 2024 Q4 PIMFA Asset Allocation Survey IS OPEN
Complete this quarter's survey(s), and you can:
• Receive a complimentary ‘Compare My Allocations Report’ which shows how the strategic asset allocations of your firm’s model portfolios compare to the participating peer average.
• Assist in ensuring that the index weight methodologies for the MSCI PIMFA Private Investor and Equity Risk Index Series’ remain relevant benchmarks for the UK wealth management sector.
Registered firms, simply click here to login and submit your firms quarterly strategic asset allocations using our new and improved dashboard.
We value and encourage participation from our full member firms, if you would like more information/sign-up, email indices@pimfa.co.uk
The use of AI models in the insurance sector raises significant concerns, according to Nikhil Rathi, Chief Executive of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), who spoke about the potential of AI to hyper-personalise insurance offerings. Although he recognised that this development may be beneficial for businesses and some customers, it could also result in certain customers becoming uninsurable or increasing discrimination due to algorithmic bias.
In this blog Tim Ryan, a Partner at DAC Beachcroft, discusses why, whilst the FCA recognises that AI can be a useful tool in creating tailored products, these developments highlight the need for businesses to consider regulatory expectations regarding the use of AI.
Click here to read.
HM Treasury: AI usage in investment management final report)
HM Treasury's (HMT's) industry-led Technology Working Group (TWG) has published its third and final report: Intelligent Investment: AI Deployment Strategies for UK Investment Management Firms.
The report considers existing and future use cases for artificial intelligence (AI) within the UK’s asset management sector, as well as the barriers firms have or are anticipated to encounter in adopting AI.
The report's key recommendations for policymakers and industry include:
• Establishing regulatory clarity and consistency to enable developers and users of AI to plan and invest with confidence.
• Building a UK fintech ecosystem with strong international connections that investment management firms can leverage to gain access to innovative solutions, specialised knowledge and valuable insights.
• Joint public and private sector action on AI-enabled fraud, to combat malicious actors and fight cybercrime and misinformation.
• Managing systemic risk through collective understanding and identifying best practice in risk management.
House of Lords - Financial Services Regulation Committee – Call for Evidence
PIMFA has submitted evidence to the House of Lords (FSRC) in relation to the FCA’s consultation paper CP24/2: Our Enforcement Guide and publicising enforcement investigations – a new approach.
You can read PIMFA’s submission here.
PIMFA WealthTech: New Tech Sprint on Strengthening Cyber Security Defences
PIMFA WealthTech has launched it latest Tech Sprint focusing on strengthening the industry's cyber security defences. With the launch of this Tech Sprint comes an invitation for FinTech firms to participate in this latest challenge by identifying and evaluating a range of effective technology solutions which can be deployed to strengthen firms’ cyber security defences.
Interested FinTechs can participate by registering online and due to demand the deadline has now been extended to Tuesday 15th October 2024 at 5pm.
Read the full press release here.
Government unveils Employment Rights Bill
On 10 October, the Government published the Employment Rights Bill 2024 (the Bill). The Bill contains significant reforms to employment rights which aims to:
• Provide employees with protection against unfair dismissal from their first day at work, whilst also allowing employers to operate probation periods.
• Establishes an employee right to be granted parental and bereavement leave from day one of employment.
• Confer rights onto employees to receive guaranteed hours within their employment contracts thus putting an end to zero hours contracts.
• Provides added rights to employees to work flexibly where certain criteria are met.
• Delivers stronger dismissal protections for pregnant women and new mothers.
• Strengthens access to statutory sick pay.
• Establish a Fair Work Agency to enforce holiday pay.
At present, we have no strong views on the Bill and would welcome any member opinions should you have them.
Over the coming weeks we will be forming a stronger view on whether or not work is needed on this piece of legislation and encourage you to contact Simon Harrington with any comments.
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) speech: Predictable volatility
The FCA has published a speech by chief executive Nikhil Rathi on delivered at the FCA International Capital Markets Conference 2024.
Mr Rathi noted a sharp rise in volatility and risk as a result of various factors, such as:
• Technology, including the use of algorithms
• Market concentration
• Investment management being increasingly centralised
• Tougher liquidity conditions
• The increased interconnectedness of financial systems
Solutions to address the predictable volatility noted include nurturing liquidity, shifting from reactive to proactive regulation, having a new mindset towards risk, investing in infrastructure and deep market engagement.
Read the full speech here.
FCA: expectations for financial advisers and investment intermediaries
The FCA has published a Dear CEO letter setting out expectations on financial advisers and investment intermediaries. In it they note their priorities, such as:
• Reducing and preventing serious harm – with a focus on retirement income advice, ongoing advice services, ensuring the ‘polluter pays’, and consolidation.
• Monitoring and testing higher industry standards under the Consumer Duty –firms should be able to evidence the implementation of the Duty as well as ongoing compliance.
• Enabling more consumers to pursue their financial objectives through the Advice Guidance Boundary Review – the FCA wants the advice profession to actively engage on the review and consider the opportunities it may provide to better support existing and new clients.
The regulator aims to work with the sector to ensure consumers receive consistently good outcomes and to empower more consumers to manage their finances.
The correspondence sets out expectations relating to retirement income advice, ongoing advice services, the polluter pays model, and consolidation.
Other areas of focus for FCA were noted, such as ensuring effective appointed representative oversight, the future disclosure regime for Consumer Composite Investments, and environmental, social and governance priorities.
Read the full letter here.
