Dormant Assets: Reunifying Investors with Their Accounts and Doing Social Good

Reunifying retail consumers with their lost accounts can sometimes be challenging. The IA's updated tracing principles and new Unclaimed Assets Portal powered by Gretel aim to help with this. Where these cannot work in all cases, the Dormant Assets Scheme provides a new option for firms in making the money available to charities to help people in need across the UK. Join this webinar to hear:

• An introduction to the Dormant Assets Scheme and the ways in which our sector can help society;
• The role of Reclaim Fund Limited and how firms can engage in the Scheme;
• The launch of the IA's Unclaimed Assets Portal powered by Gretel; and
• The IA's revised tracing principles to reunite customers with their lost accounts

11:00-11:02 Welcome

John Allan, Fund Operations Specialist, The Investment Association

11:02-11:20 The Dormant Assets Scheme
A panel of experts will discuss the expansion of the Dormant Assets Scheme to the Investment & Wealth Management sector; what the Scheme is and why firms should participate.

Moderator: John Allan, Fund Operations Specialist, The Investment Association
Sacha Romanovitch OBE, CEO, Fair4All Finance
Jasveer Singh, General Counsel, Jupiter Asset Management
Adrian Smith OBE, Chief Executive, Reclaim Fund

11:20-11:34 Reuniting Customers with Their Investments

11:20-11:27 In discussion with Steve
As Chair of the IA’s Dormant Assets Technical Group, Steve will cover the considerations of firms in participating in the Scheme as well as the content of the new IA Guidance on tracing customers.

Steve Doyle, Head of UK Transfer Agency and Client Service Oversight for UK Funds and Chair of IA Dormant Assets Technical Group

11:27-11:34 The IA Unclaimed Assets Portal powered by Gretel
Tom & Duncan will provide an overview of the new tool that enables consumers to be reunited with lost accounts, and how IA members can utilise the database.

Tom Simmonds, COO, Gretel
Duncan Stevens, CEO, Gretel

11:34-11:44 Q&A

11:40-11:45 Closing Remarks

John Allan, Fund Operations Specialist, The Investment Association

In order of programme appearance:

John Allan, Senior Operations Specialist, The Investment Association

John is responsible for fund and firm operations at The Investment Association (IA), supporting IA member firms through operational challenges and developments, the application of emerging technology and regulatory change. His current primary focus is on leading the IA’s work on Operational and Cyber Resilience. Prior to joining the IA, John held roles at BMO Global Asset Management and BNY Mellon in fund operations roles covering the UK, Ireland and Luxembourg.

Steve Doyle, Head of UK Transfer Agency and Client Service Oversight for UK Funds and Chair of IA Dormant Assets Technical Group

Steve Doyle is Head of UK Transfer Agency and Client Service Oversight for UK Funds, J.P.Morgan Asset Management.

Mr Doyle originally joined J.P. Morgan Asset Management (formerly Save and Prosper) in 2000 within a Client Services role. In his early years he developed into managerial roles across the Client Services department.

He became Head of UK Fund Client Services in 2014 taking responsibility for servicing across the UK Fund range and has been involved in multiple strategic restructuring projects within the business.

In 2016 he took ownership for running the UK Transfer Agency function providing operational oversight of; Transfer Agency for UK Funds along with Client Service, Complaints and supporting Fund distribution in the UK.

Alongside this in 2018 he took responsibility for the UK direct retail client business, driving structural and strategic change of the business model, whilst ensuring the client experience remained strong.

Sacha Romanovitch OBE, CEO, Fair4All Finance

Sacha has a background in driving purpose led change in business through her previous roles as CEO at Grant Thornton and Chair of Access Accountancy. She has extensive experience of working with businesses, government and civil society to address key systemic issues. Sacha is on the Levelling Up Advisory Council and is also a non-executive Director at Leapfrog Investments.

Tom Simmonds, COO, Gretel

Tom has held both executive and non-executive roles with SMEs, Private Equity and FTSE 250 companies for more than 20 years. Tom was Managing Director of one of the first tracing and asset reunification companies in the UK. Following its merger with Equiniti Group, Tom led some of the largest asset reunification programmes ever undertaken by UK public companies, returning over £1 billion to investors during his 9-year tenure.

After leaving Equiniti, Tom was appointed to the UK leadership team of Innovation Group where he delivered the Group's Data Science implementation strategy.

As a team, Duncan and Tom have delivered many of the largest and most complex tracing programmes in the UK and have returned over £2.5bn in unclaimed assets to over 1.5m consumers.

Jasveer Singh, General Counsel, Jupiter Asset Management Limited

Jasveer Singh joined Jupiter in 2016 as General Counsel with responsibility for the firm’s legal, company secretarial and related regulatory activities. He is also a member of Jupiter’s Executive Committee with a key role in supporting the delivery of Jupiter’s overall business strategy with extensive board, strategic and governance responsibilities. Jasveer joined Jupiter after 12 years at Man Group plc where he was Group General Counsel. Prior to Man Group plc, Jasveer practised in the Private Funds Group at Clifford Chance focussing on a broad range of funds, financial services and regulatory work.

Adrian Smith OBE, Chief Executive, Reclaim Fund Ltd

Reclaim Fund Ltd (RFL) is a government owned not-for-profit organisation that operates the UK’s Dormant Asset Scheme.

Adrian was responsible for leading the project to establish Reclaim Fund Ltd (RFL) during 2009/10 and became the companies Chief Executive in 2011. Over the last five years he has worked in collaboration with the UK government and industry to progress expansion of the Dormant Assets Scheme, including a role on the Dormant Assets Expansion Board.

With his depth of knowledge and insight regarding the management of dormant assets, Adrian has spoken at various sector events across the financial services industry in the UK and has also provided his expertise in supporting other countries including Japan, Guernsey and Germany in progressing their dormant asset agendas.

Duncan Stevens, CEO, Gretel

Duncan is a successful business leader with a track record in innovative data analytics and consumer tracing solutions spanning the last 20 years. In 2008, Duncan was hired by private equity partners Advent International to advise and lead on Equiniti's strategy in this space.

Duncan has helped shape the UK's legislative framework both as an advisor and industry speaker. Since 2018 he has been advising the UK Government's Dormant Assets Commission on the industry governance framework which was published in 2019. He also consulted on the UK's Dormant Bank and Building Society Accounts Act in 2008, in addition to working on numerous other industry regulatory bodies.