London must be more active in
the promotion of the broad sweep of investment skills and knowledge
it can offer to emphasise its advantage over emerging wealth market
centres. But UK bankers must be willing to push beyond their
traditional British reserve to pitch for work.
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Paula Elliott, moderator (PE): London currently holds
top spot according to the Global Financial Centres index, but
change is in the wind. How can London keep up with the pace of
change
Jeremy Fern: There are actions which must be
taken to make sure London continues to flourish in this market. The
first is the maintenance of ‘the rule of law’. And I do stress ‘the
rule of law’ as opposed to ‘rule of the law’. It isn’t just
semantics; there is a great difference. The second is a political
culture of no sudden movements. In other words, predictability.
Thirdly, I think we have to
maintain the human appeal of spending time in the UK and
particularly in London. We have to continue to offer a cohesive
cosmopolitan society across a range of areas; cultural, retail,
artistic, culinary.
Fourthly, we have to maintain
ourselves as a nexus and global access point for a whole range of
services; obviously investment management, investment advice, law,
accountancy, real estate, art, bloodstock. You name it, we have to
be able to offer it, and to that I’d add private medicine.
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By GlobalDataAbove all we need the ability to
look across the open seas. An exclusively Euro or Atlantic-centric
outlook to the way we do business simply will not work if we are to
meet the challenge of global economic power or influence shifting
eastwards. Our trade and cultural outlook has to shift with it.
Nicholas Moody (NM), editor,
PBI: What else can London do to increase its
attractiveness?
Gary Dugan: London
needs to talk about its positives, and actually pitch. There is a
passiveness. The assumption is that of course you’ll come to London
and put your money here, but other parts of the world are now
competing for clients’ money.
Singapore is a growing market with
protection and its own regulator.
What’s important is saying that you
have strong regulation and rules, demonstrating that you understand
the client, that you’re committed to the client, and emphasising
the culture and other aspects of London.
NM: I’d like to go round the
table and get some final thoughts. What message would you like to
give to government, or what innovation should London
embrace?
Gary Dugan: The UK
and London has a great competitive edge in wealth management with
its history, knowledge and intellectual capital, but it needs to go
out and make a pitch. It is a financial centre that can embrace the
emerging world from a distance, but it needs to get in there and
get involved. Make your pitch and you’ll be pleasantly surprised
with the engagement you’ll get from the world. You need to do it
with open arms, not just an outstretched handshake.
Nick Hammond:
Don’t be afraid of regulation. At macro level, London firms should
recognise their strengths. We should recognise our sources of
differentiation and protect them. At micro level, it’s not just
about the pursuit of the oft-quoted share of wallet. Maybe it’s
about getting a smaller share of more clients.
James Fleming: We
British have a tradition of complacency. We have made great
strides, then relaxed and seen everybody come along and overtake
us. Let us not lose the competitive advantage London has over its
competition.
Jean-Pierre Flais:
The key for me is international perspective. That is where London
is ahead of the game. That international dimension remains London’s
main asset. The challenge is not so much to aspire to be the main
engine of growth (that is going to be Asia), but for London to
position itself in such a way as to be the main European hub, to
get most benefits from that growth.
Josh Matthews: London has the opportunity to
maintain its position as a great global centre. A lot of people who
are new to wealth focus on speculating, then they become investors
over time. London can be positioned as the place where global
individuals come to make informed investment decisions as opposed
to initially speculating using local custody for local
investment.
See also:
PBI Round Table: Complacency threatens London’s
status
PBI Round Table: Regulation – a force for
good?
PBI
Round Table: Selling global guidance
