The IA responds to the Chancellor’s speech on financial services and exiting the EU

Wednesday 07 March

Responding to the Chancellor’s speech on financial services and exiting the EU, Chris Cummings, Chief Executive of the Investment Association (IA), said:

“The IA welcomes the Chancellor’s focus today on financial services and the Government’s recognition that the asset management industry needs clarity and certainty as we plan for Brexit. The IA supports the Government’s ambition for a comprehensive Free Trade Agreement to include financial services. This is essential to ensure that the millions of savers and investors our members serve across Europe continue to benefit from the UK’s investment expertise.”

“The IA agrees with the Chancellor that any Free Trade Agreement between the UK and the EU should be based on the concept of mutual recognition, rather than the current equivalence assessment. Maintaining market access in this way would be the most beneficial outcome for UK and EU savers alike.”

"In particular, we support the Chancellor's statement that the future relationship between the UK and the EU, including during an implementation period, will be underpinned by close regulatory cooperation and collaboration. We urge policymakers to finalise these agreements urgently as they are the foundation stone that firms need to have in place.”

“We were pleased to hear the Chancellor highlight the importance of the UK’s investment industry, which manages £1.5 trillion of assets on behalf of clients in the EU. Protecting the ability for UK asset managers to provide services to EU-based clients is critical to avoid disruption to Europe’s economy, and to protect the integrity of the wider financial services industry in the UK.”

For more information contact:

Victoria Jonson, Interim Head of Communications: [email protected]
T +44 (0)20 7269 4696

Helen Ayres, Media Relations Manager: [email protected]
T +44 (0)20 7269 4696, M +44 7508 724066

About The Investment Association:

• The IA champions UK asset management, supporting British savers, investors and businesses. Our 250 members manage £6.9 trillion of assets and employ 93,500 people across the UK
• Our mission is to make investment better. Better for clients, so they achieve their financial goals. Better for companies, so they get the capital they need to grow. And better for the economy, so everyone prospers.
• Our purpose is to ensure investment managers are in the best possible position to:
  • Build people’s resilience to financial adversity
  • Help people achieve their financial aspirations
  • Enable people to maintain a decent standard of living as they grow older
  • Contribute to economic growth through the efficient allocation of capital
• The money our members manage is in a wide variety of investment vehicles including authorised investment funds, pension funds and stocks and shares ISAs.
• The UK is the second largest investment management centre in the world, after the US and manages 37% of all assets managed in Europe.