Investor confidence in London’s stock market has hit aworrying low, with fund managers warning the government that sentiment is at “rock bottom.”

In a recent Downing Street meeting, industry specialists raised concerns over the state of UK equities - highlighting key challenges such as declining IPOs, a widening valuation gap between UK and US companies, and increasing acquisitions by private equity and foreign buyers. With pension funds consistently reducing their UK equity holdings, a growing number of voices are calling for policy intervention to help revitalise public markets.

In this episode, Ben Walker is joined by Mark Austin CBE (Partner, Latham & Watkins and Capital Markets Industry Taskforce member), Julie Shacklady (Director of Capital Markets, UK Finance) and David Trenchard (Founder and CEO, David Trenchard Consulting Ltd) to unpack the state of public listings in the UK – and what this means for businesses, investors, and the broader economy.

Together they answer: How can investor confidence berestored? Are UK companies undervalued compared to their global counterparts? And what role could pension funds play in revitalising domestic markets?