Foreword

From Galina Dimitrova

Foreword

Welcome to the IA’s Investment & Capital Markets policy report for the final quarter of 2022 and beginning of 2023. With this report we bring together the significant investment & capital markets activity over the past few months.

In December, the Chancellor announced the ‘Edinburgh’ Reforms which outlined the Government’s plans for the financial industry and next steps on a number of important areas for IA members, including consolidated tape, the creation of new trading venues to bridge the gap between private and public markets, and a new settlements taskforce which will bring together industry figures to consider moving from T+2 to T+1 settlements in the UK.

This quarter also saw significant activity in the sustainability and responsible investment space, with the publication of the highly anticipated FCA consultation paper on SDR and investment labels which contains proposals that will lead to major changes in the way sustainable investment products are

marketed and distributed in the UK. COP27 also attracted much industry attention and resulted in global efforts to support vulnerable countries deal with loss and damages. These events came at a time where high energy prices continue to create challenging macroeconomic conditions for policy makers and has led to a renewed focus amongst industry and policy makers on relevant matters such as net zero transition plans. Sustainability and responsible investments remains a critical policy area for the Investment & Capital Markets Team and will continue to feature as a significant part of this team’s advocacy efforts in 2023.

We hope you continue to find this policy report a useful resource and please do not hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions or feedback. It is the feedback of our members that helps us ensure that our policy efforts are focused on the right issues for industry.

Galina Dimitrova
Director, Investment and Capital Markets

The Investment and Capital Markets hub page can be found here.