The Investor Summit 2026 launches rallying cry for British equities
Across a full day of panels and speakers, the message was clear: sentiment is changing
In its second year, the Investor Summit 2026, founded by entrepreneur Sam Bell, joined together with a new convening partner RetailBook. The theme was clear from the get-go. Back British Investment Culture.
A one-of-a-kind event in the heart of the City of London, this year’s line-up covered every angle of capital markets and investing an everyday investor needs to understand, with CityAM as the Press and Media Partner.
Across nearly 80 speakers, 500 attendees and a full day, the room was still full at 6pm – unheard of for a Friday in the City.
Driving the conversation
Personal finance champion Jeff Prestridge opened the day, setting the tone for the speakers and panels to follow. The editor at large for the Money Mail & Mail on Sunday set the stage with a plea to back homegrown growth enterprises, echoing a broader consensus that the narrative around UK investing is shifting. Investors, funds, and companies are re-engaging, making direct connections across the capital spectrum key to sustained success.
Charles Hall, Head of Research at Investment Bank Peel Hunt, followed with a rallying cry for UK founders, funders and equity capital markets. Hall declared UK markets should be treated like a “National Asset”. He noted that the UK has ‘ 80 Unicorn companies, with a combined value of £240bn’ and “IPOs are the lifeblood of the UK Economy”. He went on to endorse the day, saying ”Events like this are invaluable”.
This positivity and rallying cry for British equities continued throughout the day.
Keynote contributors including Panmure Liberum’s Simon French, Cirata’s Stephen Kelly, and FCA’s Lucy Castledine addressed strategies for UK economic growth, scaling SMEs, and evolving regulation. Ben Rogoff of Polar Capital Technology Trust outlined the accelerating speed of AI adoption, establishing that technological integration will be vital for future portfolios.
The Investor Summit also featured a Unicorn Economy panel with representation from The Unicorn Council, The London Stock Exchange, the Financial Conduct Authority and RetailBook. The panel considered how markets are adapting to enable everyday investor participation in equity fundraises, using Softcat as the most recent example that took place the night before, and how the investors participation was becoming the norm.
Ryan Mendy, Co-Founder of the Unicorn Council, commented, “Commerce is the lifeblood of the UK”. The panel outlined that the UK “has the second largest pool of capital available, outside of the US”. The theme that came shining through was that capital has become more connected, and this is only the beginning.
Undervalued British equities
A central focus was the valuation disconnect in UK equities. On the ‘Bubble Bubble, Toil and Trouble’ panel, chaired by Andrew VanSickle, editor of MoneyWeek, the UK’s best-selling financial magazine, experts examined the benefits of allocating to British equities in an uncertain world – another key theme of the day. A key takeaway was that the entry point offered by the FTSE 250, trading at just 7 times forward earnings, offers a cushion against market uncertainty. This undervaluation has driven private equity activity, with firms buying 6% of the UK mid-cap index so far this year.
Andrew VanSickle said: “The event provided a comprehensive and detailed look at the wide-ranging and reasonably priced opportunities available in the UK. It has helped highlight the crucial role British equities play in people’s retirement planning at a time when they have been grievously overlooked by local and global investors alike.”
Elsewhere, panellists including Laura Foll of Janus Henderson discussed mispriced equities, concluding that diversified British investment trusts offer an effective vehicle to capture this upside.
What do investors want?
The day also featured representation from some of the largest UK investing platforms: Hargreaves Lansdown, AJ Bell, ii (interactive investor) and Fidelity, brought together by RetailBook for a unique and timely panel.
The platform debate explored evolving retail investor behaviour. Speakers noted that challenger platforms are making investing attractive to a broader audience. A major topic was authentically engaging female and younger investors, while addressing the fact that investors are increasingly turning to AI for financial guidance. While AI adoption is accelerating, panellists cautioned that algorithms cannot replace regulated advice, urging regulators to enable platforms to deliver regulated, AI-assisted advice safely.
The theme of AI ran throughout the day, as did the theme of government intervention in capital markets. Panellists from the UK’s largest investment platforms said the best way for the government to help UK markets is not through investment mandates or changes to ISA rules, but through stability. The government must “stop moving the goalposts” and “let market forces drive investment decisions,” one speaker noted.
Stacey Parsons, Managing Director of RetailBook commented, “We have never seen the industry so aligned in our mission to support and enable a greater investment culture in the UK, one that can drive and support our own homegrown growth. Today was our message to the Government: we are here to support you, but you must support us”
Pensions policy
In the afternoon, a keynote session led by City AM’s Rupert Hargreaves and Maike Currie
VP of Personal Finance at key sponsor PensionBee, addressed the increasingly complex environment pension savers face today. Maike Currie said, “For millions of people, a pension will be the biggest investment they ever own, yet it’s often the one they engage with least.
“Getting money into a pension is only half the job. The challenging bit is turning one of the biggest investments of your life into a sustainable income that lasts for as long as you do. If we can get people to understand, engage with and feel ownership of their pension, we won’t just create better retirements, we’ll go a long way towards creating a nation of investors.”
But the day wasn’t all about UK equities. Several panels highlighted the growth opportunities available across international markets. Discussions highlighted emerging opportunities in Vietnam with Donald Leggatt (Copia) and Thuy Anh Nguyen (Dragon Capital), alongside small-cap strategies from Stuart Widdowson (Odyssean Investment Trust). EnergyPathways’ Ben Clube analysed clean energy, while Jonathan Hobbs of Leverage Shares discussed volatility management using modern ETF structures.
Additional panels evaluated AIM’s 30-year legacy, angel networks (Angel Academe, Provenance), healthcare advances (Poolbeg Pharma, UBS), and Copia’s demonstration of AI in investment research.
The day finished up with a press panel hosted by the Investor Summit’s key sponsor, PensionBee. Ben Wilkinson, head of money at The Times, Simon Lambert, publisher of ThisisMoney.co.uk and Daily Mail Money, took to the stage alongside City AM’s deputy editor Charlie Conchie to talk about the role of the press in covering Britain’s capital markets.
“The press has an essential role to play in covering the challenges and opportunities facing UK capital markets,” Conchie said. “London has had a difficult few years, but it was great to see a room full of retail investors all banging the drum for UK equities – they’ll be central to the market’s recovery.”
And if you thought that wasn’t enough, the event reached millions outside the room, with Talk To The Nation content creator Quincy Washington bringing those messages to a whole new audience.
By connecting institutional City leaders with digital content creators and everyday investors, the Investor Summit 2026 demonstrated that building a resilient British investment culture is an active, nationwide movement.