London Stock Exchange boss: Fix underinvestment for growth
The boss of the London Stock Exchange has urged the government to fix investment in capital markets to achieve economic growth.
Dame Julia Hoggett, the chief executive of the London Stock Exchange, has backed the new ‘Tell Sid’-style campaign announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves this year in a bid to get Brits investing.
Hoggett told The Times she hoped the campaign would trigger a “zeitgeist shift” which helps the “flywheel to turn”.
“We have underinvested ourselves as a nation and we need to address that if we want growth,” she added.
The London markets’ chief has previously said Brits were more averse to investing in the real economy than in the likes of cryptocurrency and eyed the new campaign as a way to “demystify investing”.
London Stock Exchange’s retail push
The campaign comes amid a torrid time for the City markets after a series of delisting blows ranging from tech darling Darktrace to fintech firm Wise.
Hoggett suggested the UK was stuck in rut of talking itself down.
“We like to have an intellectual debate about whether it is the done thing to back ourselves,” she said.
Rachel Reeves unveiled her investment push at her Mansion House speech this year.
The Investment Association will help to drive the campaign while regulators will advise on it, with the government looking to fix a “tangled system of financial advice” and “lengthy risk warnings” that have made it harder for consumers to invest in the UK.
Meanwhile, high street banks will lead the drive to highlight the benefits of retail investing as they will alert customers about investment opportunities and how to move cash from savings accounts to stocks and shares investments.
Hoggett has long called for the UK to change its “perverse” attitudes towards retail investment, arguing it should be “much more straightforward” for retail investors to participate in these markets, which would help lower the cost of capital for business and growth.