IA Talks Innovation

In this episode we speak to Gerrad Olisa-Ashar, Founder of Cyberbridge Partners, to hear how AI is changing the nature of cyber risk; how firms need to adapt; and how risk specialists and board members can effectively discuss and get on top of these issues. 

In this episode James King sits down with the FCA Emerging Tech & Research Team (Dr Fern Watson, Charlie Markham and Claudio Sanna) to discuss the FCA’s recently published Emerging Technology Horizon Scan 2026. This first of its kind paper from the FCA sets out three plausible ways emerging technologies could combine to create new outcomes for consumers, firms and markets.

Aviva Investors' Alastair Sewell outlines why they have launched a tokenised money market fund, how they made it work and why other firms should do the same. Find out more about the fund here, IA tokenisation training and the IA-Licuido paper on collateral mobility.

In this episode we speak to Jonathan Lipkin, Director of Policy, Strategy and Innovation at the Investment Association, about the IA’s tech and innovation work and how it fits into the IA’s overall strategy, known as DRIVE.

In this episode of IA Talks Innovation, John Powlton, M&G Investments, and Gavin Kan, KPMG, explore how tax shapes innovation across the investment landscape. From tax neutrality and investment structures to legacy systems and automation, they discuss where innovation is gaining ground, where barriers remain, and how technology could make tax more embedded, seamless and future-ready.

In this episode of IA talks Innovation, we’re joined by the FCA’s Emerging Tech team, Fern Watson and Charlie Markham. We explore why the FCA is engaging with quantum now, where the most credible near and medium term use cases may emerge for asset managers, and what it will take to translate theoretical promise into commercial advantage. (We promise, we discuss in words and in mathematical equations!)

In this episode of IA Talks Innovation, James King and Shruti Deb are joined by Ann Prendergast, Chair of the Investment Association, for a candid conversation on how senior leaders are thinking about innovation today.

The discussion explores how firms are moving from experimentation to industrial‑scale adoption, the evolving role of regulation in shaping innovation, and what this all means for talent and leadership in the years ahead.

Colin Payne, Head of Innovation at the FCA reflects on the Singapore FinTech Festival during which the FCA and Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced an AI Partnership between the two regulators, and a report was published on ways to bridge the digital assets “adoption gap”. The publication is a product of joint work between the regulators (FCA and the MAS), and the buy-side trade associations of each country (IA and the Investment Management Association of Singapore). 

For more see: 

1- https://www.fca.org.uk/news/press-releases/fca-partners-singapore-drive-growth-ai-innovation

2- https://www.theia.org/sites/default/files/2025-11/Bridging%20the%20Adoption%20Gap%20-%20Aligning%20Digital%20Asset%20Offerings%20with%20Buy%20Side%20Requirements%20%20Nov25.pdf 

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