The Investment Association (IA) has published a position paper on the automation of IPOs and placing 'Block Trades'. The paper notes that given the emergence of new third-party services, innovations, and technology, the IA membership considers this the ideal moment to reinitiate dialogue on IPO automation and urge market participants to collaborate for the change. This Position Paper sets the stage for an open discussion on the need for IPO automation, the challenges faced by the current system, and the proposed direction for solutions to enhance the IPO process.

The Investment Association (IA) has published a press release with recommendations on pension reform, to ensure reforms undertaken as part of the Government’s Pension Review positively impact retirement outcomes for UK pension scheme members and boost UK economic growth. The IA has made ten recommendations for the UK pensions market as the industry wants to ensure that the UK pensions system is 'fit for purpose to secure the financial futures of individuals across the UK who will rely on their pensions in later life.'

The Investment Association (IA) has published its second annual Culture, Talent & Inclusion Report, offering a detailed demographic snapshot of the UK investment management industry. The report, produced in collaboration with WTW's Thinking Ahead Institute, reveals significant progress in Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) data collection across the sector. Notably, firms are now gathering information on a broader range of characteristics, including disability, neurodiversity, and socio-economic background. The report highlights a concerning trend of decreased female representation in the 50-64 age bracket, comprising only 8% of the workforce in this demographic.

The Investment Association (IA) published its 'Foundations of Growth' report, outlining a strategic roadmap to harness private market capital to drive long-term economic growth, innovation, and resilience in Europe. The report highlights an estimated annual funding gap of €800bn needed by 2030 for the green transition and underscores the critical role of private equity and venture capital—which now manage approximately €1.25 trillion in assets and supported 10.9 million jobs in 2022—in addressing Europe’s funding challenges.

The Investment Association (IA) has published updated guidance on virtual participation in annual general meetings (AGMs), favouring hybrid meetings that combine physical attendance with online participation. The IA says this format supports wider participation while preserving shareholders’ ability to hold boards accountable. Companies using virtual elements should enable shareholders to be seen and heard, ask live questions and view all board members throughout the meeting. They should also explain how questions are grouped or filtered, publish a full record of submitted questions, including those not answered, and have arrangements in place to address technology failures.

The Investment Association (IA) has reconfirmed its flexible approach to executive remuneration in its Principles of Remuneration for 2026 and has identified five areas for improved implementation. The principles, representing views of investors managing £10trn in assets, maintain that companies can adapt pay structures to suit their business strategy when accompanied by suitable explanations. The IA specified refinements including requirements for more company-specific rationales, earlier benchmarking transparency, continued caution on hybrid schemes, retention of bonus deferral mechanisms even after shareholding guidelines are met, and restrictions on retrospective changes to in-flight awards except in exceptional circumstances with shareholder consultation. The approach to non-executive director remuneration remains unchanged, with performance-related pay deemed inappropriate for independent directors.

The Investment Association (IA), the trade body representing the UK's investment management industry, published its H2 2024 fraud figures to mark Take Five fraud prevention week. In this report, the IA detailed that cloning scams have become the foremost source of fraud, wherein criminals impersonate investment management firms by creating counterfeit versions of websites, emails, or messaging groups to deceive consumers into transferring funds.

The Investment Association (IA) has published a report examining barriers to effective stewardship and setting out recommendations to support long-term value creation across the investment chain. The report considers stewardship from the perspective of investment managers and assesses how current practices operate across the investment ecosystem. It notes that the UK stewardship framework has faced increased scrutiny in recent years, including concerns about its impact on economic growth, reporting burdens, international competitiveness and the attractiveness of UK listings.

An early insights report published by the Investment Association (IA) with data as of 31 December 2024 shows that the UK investment management industry reached a record £10.0trn in assets under management (AUM) in 2024, marking a 10% increase from the previous year. The IA indicates that this growth reflects strong market performance, improved economic conditions, and a rise in assets managed from the UK for overseas investors. UK funds under management (FUM) rose by 5% to £1.49trn, indicating renewed investor confidence and positive market returns. A notable shift occurred in the composition of AUM, with retail investor assets rising to 28%, surpassing pension assets for the first time, which fell to 27%. This change highlights growing interest in retail investing since the pandemic and aligns with government efforts to encourage investment over cash savings. However, pension assets have declined significantly from their 2018 peak of 45%, driven in part by the winding down of defined benefit schemes, fully funded transfers to insurers, and the lingering effects of the 2022 gilt crisis.

The Investment Association (IA) has reported that investors withdrew £622m from North American equity funds in May 2025, marking the first outflows from the region in six months. The shift follows increased uncertainty around the impact of US tariffs and policy developments on market performance. The outflows included £303m from funds investing in smaller US companies, reversing April’s £962m inflows. Global Emerging Markets also saw record monthly outflows of £525m, reflecting reduced investor appetite for regions potentially affected by tariffs, which is a substantial increase from the £62m outflows in April 2025. Despite this, total fund inflows rose to £2.0bn in May 2025, up from £1.1bn in April 2025, with fixed income funds leading the recovery. The IA noted that May 2025 reflected a change in investor sentiment, with a move away from US and emerging market equities and increased interest in globally diversified and European equity funds.

The Investment Association (IA) has responded to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)’s consultation on environmental, social and governance (ESG) ratings (CP25/34). The IA indicated its support of the FCA’s proposed framework for regulating ESG ratings providers, commending its basis on existing rules, alignment with international standards and focus on strengthening transparency and governance. IA’s response clarifies that asset managers with proprietary ESG ratings in FCA-regulated activities remain outside the scope of the proposed framework, as current regulation sufficiently covers disclosure risks. The IA seeks further clarity on several points, including which firms and activities will be subject to regulation, the treatment of proprietary ratings that are shared externally and the implications of narrowing the UK Benchmarks Regulation.

Ahead of the Budget, the Investment Association (IA) has urged the government to commit to long-term stability in pension tax policy to give savers more certainty about their pensions.  The call follows new research commissioned by the IA, which found that only one in five (24%) of UK adults are confident the state pension will be sufficient to live on.  More than two in five respondents (42%) indicated that frequent changes to pensions policy make future planning more difficult, while over a third (37%) expressed concern that pension tax benefits may be reduced in the upcoming Autumn Budget. The IA also highlighted a 62% increase in the value of tax-free lump sums withdrawn over the past year, which it attributes to rising uncertainty among pension savers. It believes encouraging people to invest in their own pensions matters now more than ever.