Democratising Private Assets: Enhancing Opportunities for Wealth Portfolios

As private markets become an increasingly significant part of the economy, an important debate is taking place in the UK, EU and elsewhere about how to widen access to a broader group of investors beyond the institutional market. There exists great potential to better match the demand and supply for private assets through their ‘democratisation’, reaching deeper into the DC pensions, Private Wealth and Retail markets.

Coinciding with the launch of the UK’s new Long Term Asset Fund regime in late 2021, the IA and Goji Investments published the Weaving Private Assets into Wealth Portfolios: Evolving Structures to Meet Evolving Needs white paper that explores the interest among private wealth managers in making allocations to private assets in wealth portfolios, as well as the challenges they faced in doing so.

10:00-10:05 Welcome

Jonathan Lipkin, Director of Policy, Strategy and Research, The Investment Association

10:05-10:15 Presentation
A short overview of the key research findings.

Miranda Seath, Head of Market Insight, The Investment Association

10:15-10:55 Panel Discussion
Panellists will discuss:

• What are the opportunities and challenges faced by Wealth Managers in investing in private markets on behalf of their clients?
• How can Asset Managers best develop products to help Wealth Managers meet their clients’ needs?
• What are some of the legal and regulatory challenges Asset Managers face in creating funds for private wealth clients?
• How can platforms untangle some of the operational complexities of distributing illiquid funds in the wealth market?

Moderator: Jonathan Lipkin, Director of Policy, Strategy and Research, The Investment Association
Nicholas Hammond, Chief of Staff, Brewin Dolphin
Alex Cunningham, Director, BlackRock
Lora Froud, Partner, Macfarlanes
David Genn, Chief Executive Officer, Goji

10:55-11:00 Closing Remarks

Jonathan Lipkin, Director of Policy, Strategy and Research, The Investment Association

In order of programme appearance:

Jonathan Lipkin, Director of Policy, Strategy and Research, The Investment Association

Jonathan is Director of Policy, Strategy and Research at The Investment Association (IA) and a member of the IA management team.

Jonathan’s work currently focuses on three key areas: public policy and regulatory issues affecting investment management; the strategic direction of the investment management industry; and the provision of research and market insight support for the IA’s activities. In recent years, he has led major projects on a range of themes affecting the industry, including new investment fund structures, pension reform, customer communication and industry competition. He is also involved in broader IA policy development, including on EU and international affairs.

Jonathan joined the IA in 2005, becoming Director of Public Policy in 2012. Prior to 2005, he worked for a number of years at Oxford Analytica, an international consultancy. At OA, he led the European political and economic analysis serving a wide range of domestic and overseas clients, both corporate and governmental.

Jonathan is currently a Board member of the Cost Transparency Initiative, Chair of the Pensions Group for EFAMA (the European investment industry voice) and a member of the Advisory Board of the Centre for Asset Management Research at Cass Business School. He writes and speaks regularly both in the UK and abroad on investment management and pensions issues.

Miranda Seath, Head of Market Insight, The Investment Association

Miranda joined the IA in May 2019 as Head of Market Insight, overseeing the Research, Statistics and Sectors teams that form the IA’s Market Insight Group. As part of her role, she works with her teams to provide analysis of data and trends in the investment management industry to IA Members and external stakeholders. She is also actively involved in IA Sectors, the fund classification scheme designed to help investors navigate the retail fund universe.

Miranda was Research Director successively at Platforum and NextWealth, both of which are research and consulting firms focused on analysing the distribution of retail investments. Her areas of expertise included: UK fund distribution, the advice and discretionary investment management markets, UK investment platforms and the post-retirement market. She has been a regular press commentator and speaker on retail investment distribution trends.

Nicholas Hammond, Chief of Staff, Brewin Dolphin

Nicholas Hammond joined Brewin Dolphin in 2018 with twenty-five years’ experience in wealth management, private banking, and commodities, including roles as Head of Portfolio Management at C. Hoare & Co and Chief Operating Officer at Baird & Co. He holds an MBA from London Business School/Colombia University and is a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investments. Outside of work Nicholas enjoys field sports, fencing and motorcycling.

Alex Cunningham, Director, BlackRock

Alex Cunningham, Director, is a member of BlackRock’s Global Product Group. He leads the alternative funds structuring function, advising on the design and structuring of private assets products, solutions and mandates across a broad range of jurisdictions, client channels and asset classes. He has wide experience of private markets and the regulatory landscape, and sits on various ALFI, AIMA and Investment Association committees and working groups. Alex chaired the IA’s LTAF working group and has been a key part of the UK and broader market’s focus on bringing alternatives to a private wealth investor base.

Lora Froud, Partner, Macfarlanes

Lora advises clients on the structuring and operation of onshore and offshore investment funds, both regulated and unregulated, and also advises on all legal aspects of asset management. She specialises in regulated funds.

Lora regularly assists clients with related EU and UK regulatory and compliance matters and she has particular experience in advising on the UCITS regime, AIFMD, MiFID and ESG developments. She was also heavily involved in advising the FCA and the IA on the regulatory framework for the Long Term Asset Fund.

Her clients include operators, asset managers, depositaries and custodians of investment funds.

David Genn, Chief Executive Officer, Goji

David joined Goji as employee #1 to lead the technology build of the platform and has helped grow the company to serve more than 26,000 investors across 75 jurisdictions processing more than £1.8bn of assets.

Prior to Goji, David worked at IG Group leading a technology team responsible for the dealing API and previously worked at Alfa, a provider of platform solutions to the asset finance industry.