The Investment Exchange: Opening up Retail Investor Access to ETFs
Description
Join the Investment Association for the first of a series of breakfast briefings focusing on ETFs. This session will focus on what recent research tells us about the growing demand for ETFs among retail investors, and the barriers that still limit participation. Industry experts will explore what can be done — from the perspectives of issuers, advisers, platforms, and exchanges — to make ETFs more accessible to ordinary investors. Together, we’ll look at how to foster a stronger culture of retail investment and identify practical steps the industry can take to drive change.
WHY ATTEND
- Gain new insights on the growing ETF market, based on the IA's latest research.
- Hear directly from leading industry experts.
- Discover actionable strategies to broaden retail ETF participation.
- Network with peers shaping the future of retail investing.
WHO SHOULD ATTEND
- Industry professionals — ETF issuers, asset managers, product strategists, and market-makers shaping product design and distribution.
- Investment and advisory leaders — financial advisers, wealth managers, and investment platforms focused on improving retail access and execution.
- Ecosystem partners — regulators, trade bodies, journalists, researchers, and fintech providers enhancing investor education, UX, and market transparency.
AGENDA
08:15 Registration, Networking and Breakfast
09:00 Welcome remarks
- Miranda Seath, Director, Market Insight & Fund Sectors, The Investment Association
09:15 Retail Investors & ETFs: Increasing Awareness, Understanding & Access
We will share the key findings from the IA's research in partnership with Opinium looking at who is investing in ETFs, why or why not, and what might encourage broader adoption. The research shows a lack of investor knowledge of ETFs among the broader investor base - there is a significant opportunity to diversify the profile of ETF investors to help broaden access. What do we know about ETF investors today and what motivates them? what are investors' perceptions of the barriers to ETF adoption and choice how can we break these down? We will also touch on the role of advisers - both today and in the future as routes into investing evolve and investor expectations shift.
- Miranda Seath, Director, Market Insight & Fund Sectors, The Investment Association
09:25 Panel discussion: Democratising ETFs: Breaking Down Barriers & Unlocking Opportunities
The panellist will explore how to broaden access to exchange-traded funds by strengthening investor and adviser education, addressing structural challenges such as the need for fractional investing and clearly communicating dealing costs, and examining insights from international markets to understand how investor expectations and product offerings may evolve. It will also consider how industry participants can work together more effectively, outlining practical next steps to help build and support a stronger retail investing culture in the UK.
- Moderator: Hugo Gordon, Head of Capital Markets, The Investment Association
- Alex Watkins, ETP Business Development Lead, London Stock Exchange Group
- Dan Caps, Associate Director Investment Management, Evelyn Partners
- Henri Boua, ETF Advisory & Execution, HSBC
- Rajat Tiwari, Executive Director for Northern Europe, BlackRock
- Sam Manchanda, Managing Director, Head of UK & Nordics Coverage; Head of North EMEA Coverage, Xtrackers
10:05 Closing remarks
- Miranda Seath, Director, Market Insight & Fund Sectors, The Investment Association
10:10 Networking
10:45 Event close
SPEAKERS
More speakers to be announced
Alex Watkins, ETP Business Development Lead, London Stock Exchange Group
Alex Watkins is responsible for Exchange Traded Product (ETP) Business Development at the London Stock Exchange, working across all ETP issuers and trading firms to drive market growth, enhance liquidity, and support innovation in the ETP ecosystem.
Dan Caps, Associate Director Investment Management, Evelyn Partners
Dan Caps is the lead portfolio manager on Evelyn Partner’s Index MPS range and the Smart fund range on Bestinvest. He is a member of Evelyn’s Passive Fund Research Team, responsible for researching of index-tracking funds and ETFs. Dan has 20 years’ experience working in Financial Services and has been involved in constructing index-tracking and factor-based portfolios since 2007. Dan appeared in the CityWire Wealth Manager Top 100 list in 2024 and 2025 and has been a judge at the ETF Stream Awards in 2023, 2024 and 2025. Dan is a CFA Charterholder.
Henri Boua, ETF Advisory & Execution, HSBC
Henri joined HSBC in June 2022 to work with institutional clients, covering all aspects of ETF Trading and Liquidity, Portfolio Construction and Asset Allocation. Before joining HSBC, Henri spent 5 years at electronic market-making firm Bluefin Europe, where he was a member of the Institutional Sales & Trading team for ETFs, providing advisory and execution services to investors in EMEA and LATAM. Prior to that, Henri worked for 2 leading ETF providers, ETF Securities and then WisdomTree, specialising in commodities and smart-beta investment solutions. Henri began his career in 2007 as a cross-asset derivatives structurer in London, within the Swiss group Compagnie Financière Tradition. Henri holds an Msc. in Quantitative Finance from Paris Dauphine University (Master 203). He is a CFA and CAIA charter holder, and a member of CFA Society France. Henri is a keen football player and enjoys reading 19th century philosophy and history books during his spare time in Blackheath, London, where he lives with his wife and 2 children.
Hugo Gordon, Head of Capital Markets, The Investment Association
Hugo Gordon is Head of Capital Markets at the IA, having initially joined as a Corporate Governance Analyst in 2014. As part of his role he oversees public markets policy at the IA, and is the IA's lead on ETF issues, as well as public equities, fixed income, derivatives, trading, market data and investment research.
Miranda Seath, Director of Market Insight & Fund Sectors, The Investment Association
Miranda leads the team analysing data and trends in UK investment management, producing evidence-based insight to support the IA’s policy agenda. The division provides insight to members and external stakeholders through the Investment Management Survey, retail funds market commentary and investor research. Miranda is also responsible for the IA Sectors, the fund classification scheme designed to help UK investors navigate the retail fund universe.
Miranda joined the IA in May 2019. Before joining, she was Research Director at Platforum and NextWealth, research and consulting firms focused on retail investment distribution.
Rajat Tiwari, Director Market Development Group, BlackRock
Rajat Tiwari is a Director within BlackRock’s Market Development Group where he shapes the evolution of European ETF markets to support investor access, product innovation, and market growth. Rajat works with a broad range of stakeholders in the ETF industry, including academics, market makers, trading venues, and service providers to protect and advance European ETF market functioning. Rajat is also the Deputy Chair of the Investment Association’s ETF Committee where he offers BlackRock's capital markets expertise and investor insights on key issues facing European ETF industry. Rajat joined BlackRock in 2015.
Sam Manchanda, Managing Director, Head of UK & Nordics Coverage; Head of North EMEA Coverage, Xtrackers
Sam Manchanda is the UK & Nordics Head of Client Coverage Division; Head of Coverage Xtrackers and Passive Sales Head of Northern Europe Sam has 18 years of industry experience, prior to this role he held a variety of client coverage and specialist sales roles in Asia including Head of Insurance APAC, Head of South East Asia and Head of Xtrackers, South Asia. Before moving to Asia, Sam was part of the Deutsche Bank Global Markets division based in London, covering fixed income and fund sales. Sam began his career at Lehman Brothers. He holds a BSc in Chemistry from the University of Bristol and an MSc in International Management from the University of Exeters
PARTNER
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PRICING
- IA Members: (Full, Affiliates, Engine & Sector members): £25 + VAT
- Non members: £75 + VAT