As the UK recovers from COVID-19, it is vital that the country’s highly successful asset management industry remains competitive. While Brexit has thrown up a number of operational and logistical challenges for domestic asset managers marketing into the EU, the UK’s new-found autonomy does give it much greater flexibility to shape regulation and policy as it relates to funds. The Independent Investment Management Initiative (IIMI) spoke to its diverse membership about how the UK government could potentially stimulate future growth in the asset management sector.
IIMI’s Recommendations
- The UK regulator should consider streamlining the fund authorisation process-especially for managers who are only selling their products to institutional investors.
- There needs to be greater engagement by the regulator with the industry about ways to strengthen and enhance the UK asset management sector’s position in the global market. The UK regulator also needs to replicate its peers in Luxembourg and Ireland in terms of its commitment to promoting the UK as an asset management hub.
- Reform of certain regulations – such as PRIIPs – would help support the local funds industry, as would sweeping changes to existing VAT rules.
- If such reforms are enacted, there is likely to be greater re-domiciliation of funds into the UK – a shift which could result in asset servicing jobs being created across the entire country.