Join the IA Talks Innovation podcast as Miranda, Director of Market Insight and Fund Sectors at the IA, unpacks the latest Investment Management Survey, revealing how the UK industry is strutting its stuff with record-breaking growth, a surge in overseas and retail clients, and bold new looks in tech like AI, tokenization, and active ETFs. Tune in for headline stats, predictions for 2025. Miranda also offers insights into changing investor demographics, the challenges of market volatility, and the behind-the-scenes effort required to deliver this industry-defining report.

In the second part of our interview with Nike Trost, Interim Director Buy-Side at FCA, we discuss the chapter of CP25/28 that covers direct dealing, also known as Direct2Fund. We also hear from Michael McNeil and Jane Thornton, the industry leaders who helped to shape the IA's proposals for this new optional alternative operating model to help give the UK funds industry a new way of innovating customer delivery. For more see the FCA's proposals at https://www.fca.org.uk/publications/consultation-papers/cp25-28-progressing-fund-tokenisation and the IA's resources for members at https://www.theia.org/fundoperations/D2F

IA Talks Innovation heads to Stratford to interview Nike Trost, Interim Director Buy-Side at FCA about their new paper on fund operational efficiency, covering fund tokenisation and Direct2Fund. In a two part discussion, this first episode covers the evolution of the regulatory environment for UK funds utilising distributed ledger technology, how firms can use public permissioned chains and stablecoins within the rules, and thinking ahead to how a DLT-operated funds industry might look in the long-term.

The IA marks IOSCO's World Investor Week (WIW) with a discussion with retail markets specialist Reuben Overmark on the basics of investing, how to protect against scams and how tech, crypto and AI are shaping the modern investing experience. WIW is a global campaign promoted by the body for global regulators, IOSCO, to raise awareness about the importance of investor education and protection, and to highlight the various initiatives of securities regulators across the globe in these two critical areas.

For more see https://www.worldinvestorweek.org/

In this episode, we sit down with Simon Swords, the founder of Fundipedia, to explore his journey from building software in a garden shed to scaling a global FinTech company. Simon shares candid insights into the challenges and breakthroughs of entrepreneurship, why data management is reshaping financial services, and what the future of FinTech looks like. Whether you’re a founder, investor, or curious about the evolving world of finance and technology, this conversation is packed with lessons on innovation, resilience, and thinking big.