The FS Club Podcast

MAST is one of the leading charities in maritime archaeology in the country, the only organisation in recent years to conduct major seabed to museum exactions, most recently with HMS Invincible in the Solent. It fills a void where the Government seems unable to fulfil its moral obligations to protect naval war graves and protect the UK’s unique underwater heritage.

Belize is emerging as a high-credibility jurisdiction for international financial services, pairing a pragmatic, business-friendly environment with strong regulatory foundations. This webinar will showcase why Belize is increasingly on the radar of global investors, advisors, and financial services firms—including the country’s compliance and risk-management strengths as highlighted in the CFATF Mutual Evaluation process, with Belize assessed as Fully Compliant with 38 of 40 FATF Recommendations and Largely Compliant with the remaining two.

Participants will also get a practical market overview of investment and partnership opportunities across Finance Belize’s eight priority sectors: Wealth Management; Securities & Capital Markets; Company Formation; International Banking; Maritime Registry; Corporate Financial Services; Insurance; and Fintech & Digital Assets—along with entry pathways, partnership models, and where Belize is innovating next.

Taiwan is actively positioning itself as a premier Asian Asset Management Center (AAMC) through a series of strategic regulatory reforms and policy initiatives. These efforts are designed to enhance market openness, align with international standards, and bolster the overall capacity of its financial sector. Since the launch of the AAMC initiative in September 2024, Taiwan has focused on expanding asset management activities, facilitating cross-border financial services, and optimizing the investment environment. The AAMC initiatives aim to expand Taiwan’s asset management industry and investor base, while boosting regional competitiveness and global recognition.

To ensure effective implementation and foster closer engagement with market participants, the AAMC Promotion Office was established as an integrated coordination platform, operating out of the TWSE. This office bridges the gap between policy objectives and market practice by providing structured communication channels, regulatory guidance, and international outreach. These efforts ensure that reforms remain responsive to industry needs and contribute to the sustainable growth of Taiwan’s asset management ecosystem.

Aligned with this vision, the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE), in collaboration with Z/Yen, the compiler of Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI), are pleased to host this online forum. Bringing together leading experts, this webinar will provide an in-depth exploration of Taiwan’s progress and strategic trajectory as an AAMC. By blending policy perspectives with practical industry insights, the session aims to facilitate high-level dialogue, share field observations, and enhance the international community's understanding of Taiwan’s evolving role in the regional and global landscape.

We cordially invite financial professionals and stakeholders worldwide to join us in exploring Taiwan’s transformation into a dynamic asset management center —one that is "Locally Rooted, Globally Connected"—to unlock new opportunities for long-term investment in Asia.

Retail participation in financial markets is increasing in many countries, fueled by digital trading platforms and a new generation of young, highly self-directed investors. While this is a positive development, without strong financial literacy, investing can expose individuals to fraud, high-risk products they do not understand, and significant losses. As highlighted by OECD evidence, many adults struggle with fundamental financial concepts such as diversification and compound interest, and the PISA Financial Literacy assessment shows that today’s 15-year-olds also have limited financial knowledge and skills.

This matters: informed, safe and confident investing is not only a driver of long-term financial well-being, it is also a cornerstone of financial democracy. Strengthening financial literacy - through national strategies and evidence-based financial education programmes - is therefore critical to ensuring that retail investors, including the next generation, can navigate increasingly complex markets.

While the UK has not yet participated in the PISA Financial Literacy assessment, international evidence offers valuable benchmarks and lessons for strengthening financial education and preparing the future generation of savers and investors.

This webinar will explore what the PISA Financial Literacy assessment reveals about young people’s preparedness for their adult financial lives, including investing, and policy actions that can support informed retail participation in modern financial markets.

Harley Street Psychiatrist Dr Raj Persaud, who sees many very high net worth and very smart people in his clinical practice, explores why there is such a weak statistical relationship between high intelligence and happiness and indeed why being smart may prevent you from finding happiness. One key issue is how we think about being smart an issue that has come under sharper focus in the world of Artificial Intelligence and maybe we need to rethink what it is to be smart now more than ever, also, another issue is the tendency for smart people to worry more and finally there is the issue of what happiness is anyway, and whether maybe being happy is not something smart people actively pursue because they think... well, they think it's just not smart.

A regular speaker at the FS Club, EU Regulatory Expert David P. Doyle is back to give a New Year update on the EU financial services regulatory agenda.

He will be covering some of the most contentious and game-changing pieces of EU legislation in the financial services space, notably:

• The EU de-regulation and simplification measures - how will they affect financial entities?
• The mandate, role and modus operandi of the new AML Authority
• Private credit and non-bank financial institutions - the next EU regulatory challenge

In this webinar, we launch the twelfth edition of the Smart Centres Index (SCI 12). The SCI is designed to track the development of technology and financial centres across the world in their support for and readiness for new technology applications.

Investors, entrepreneurs, scientists, media, academics, governments, and regulators can attune their cities to attract innovation and growth in Science, Technology, Energy Systems, Machine Learning, Distributed Ledgers, or Fintech. Tuning a city for innovation is complex. Z/Yen began studying successful and unsuccessful business innovation clustering some 15 years ago, and published in 2018 the Smart Jurisdictions Index. Building on the results of that research we have created a novel factor assessment index based on three dimensions - innovation support, creative intensity, and delivery capability.

The SCI is designed to track the readiness of business centres across the world to support new technology businesses. The SCI uses assessments from private and public sector individuals, along with over 120 instrumental factors, to rate the centres. This important project that will grow substantially as more people pay attention to the ways centres can help globally innovative businesses thrive in rapidly changing times.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming the workplace, with applications ranging from automating routine tasks to augmenting complex decision-making. As AI technologies proliferate across industries, employers, employees, and policymakers face pressing questions about the future of human work. The integration of advanced AI tools presents new possibilities for collaboration, upskilling, and reinventing roles - but it also demands thoughtful adaptation and a clear-eyed look at what uniquely human expertise really means. Proponents argue that AI acts as a powerful tool to extend human capabilities—enabling professionals to work more efficiently, creatively, and safely. However, critics highlight the disruptive potential of AI to displace jobs, erode traditional professions, and deskill workers who come to rely on machines. Entire sectors, from manufacturing to law, could be restructured as AI substitutes for tasks once thought uniquely human. Will AI be a catalyst for human skill development, innovation and a tool for greater productivity? Or will it be a substitute for human contribution?

Join us in a lively, interactive, thought-provoking showcase hosted by Debate Mate as we delve into multiple perspectives on these critical questions and explore the future relationship between AI and human capabilities in the workplace.

The most dangerous thing about growing up is forgetting how to play. From childhood Lego sessions to experimenting with piano, creativity has always been about freedom, not perfection. Yet today’s music creation process is so complex that most ideas die before they’re born, buried under software, costs and gatekeepers. While some turn to “cheat code” AI tools that promise instant songs they sacrifice true creativity in the process. Real artistry isn’t about shortcuts; it’s about play, building, breaking, and rebuilding with imagination.

The sixteenth edition of the Global Green Finance Index provides the world’s most authoritative measure of the performance of financial centres in delivering green finance services.

The report, assembled by combining the views of financial professionals from around the world, with quantitative data commissioned and curated from over 130 sources, uses advanced statistical techniques to map the global spread of green finance.