06
Mar
2019

Velocity & B-Hive partnership links FinTech hubs in pan-European collaboration

For immediate release: 06 March 2019

The IA’s FinTech innovation hub and accelerator, Velocity, and Brussels-based FinTech ecosystem B-Hive have today signed a partnership designed to boost FinTech innovation across the asset management industry by promoting pan-European collaboration.

The partnership signed by Fabian Vandenreydt, Executive Chairman, B-Hive and Peter Harrison, Chair of the IA Board, signals a commitment to a closer relationship between the two organisations with the aim of building a strong international FinTech ecosystem.

As part of the agreement, Velocity and B-Hive will share knowledge and expertise on technology trends and work together on joint events and training, as well as tackling common innovation challenges.

The partnership marks a key milestone in Velocity’s growing reach. From its official launch last October, Velocity has already become a leading centre of innovation for the asset management industry and wider buy-side, attracting more than 80 FinTech firms in the past six months, with five of these forming the first Velocity cohort within the accelerator program.

Alexander de Croo, Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister said: “I’m very pleased today to witness the Belgian FinTech hub B-Hive partner with the renowned accelerator Velocity. Both hubs' expertise in RegTech and WealthTech gives the European FinTech ecosystem yet another boost and strengthens the collaboration between Belgium and London based startups.”

Peter Harrison, Group Chief Executive, Schroders and Chair of the IA Board said: “I am delighted to announce this new partnership with B-Hive. Velocity has quickly established itself as the natural meeting point between cutting-edge FinTech companies and the asset management industry in the UK. The pan-European collaboration with B-Hive will open new avenues for furthering innovation, which will benefit our members and the savers and investors which our industry serves.”

Fabian Vandenreydt, Executive Chairman, B-Hive said: "Our partnership with Velocity is a great representation of our main mission to build links between the major European FinTech hubs. Velocity's expertise in the investment management innovation ecosystem space will be a valuable asset for the B-Hive community and we are thrilled to partner with them."

-ENDS-

For further information, please contact:

Helen Ayres, Media Relations Manager: [email protected]

T +44 (0)20 7269 4620; M +44 (0)7508 724 06

Notes for Editors

About the Investment Association:

The IA champions UK asset management, supporting British savers, investors and businesses. Our 250 members manage £7.7 trillion of assets and the asset management industry supports 100,000 jobs 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 35% of all assets managed in Europe.

About B-Hive Europe
  • B-Hive is a European collaborative innovation fintech platform that brings together major banks, insurers and market infrastructure players. Together, we work on common innovation programs and build bridges between our corporate partners and our start-up and scale-up community members. We aim to put Brussels on the map as the smart gateway to Europe and leverage on the opportunities offered by the digital transformation for the financial services industry. We believe that building bridges between important fintech hubs and the Eurozone enables both European and non-European companies to grow and expand.
  • More information about B-Hive can be found atwww.b-hive.eu

For further information, please contact:

For media, to receive the full consultation document, please contact Helen Ayres

Helen Ayres, Communications Manager: [email protected]

T +44 (0)20 7269 4620; M +44 (0)7508 724 066

IA press office: [email protected]

About the Investment Association (IA):

  • The IA champions UK asset management, supporting British savers, investors and businesses. Our 250 members manage £7.7 trillion of assets and the asset management industry supports 100,000 jobs 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 35% of all assets managed in Europe.