CashNews.co
Given that the Labour government plans to encourage and develop the finance sector across the UK, and is keen to have a strong working relationship with the devolved governments, one of the first places it may want to focus is in Scotland, where there has been a decline in parts of the investment sector in recent years (Report, FT.com, September 17).
If action is not taken to stem this decline, Scotland’s place as a top-tier financial destination will be threatened, the Scottish government’s tax income will in all likelihood diminish and the UK’s financial services will become even more centred on London.
Decades of consolidation across the life assurance and investment industries have seen the demise of many famous and long-standing Scottish fund management brands. This has been accompanied by a reduction in the number of high-level job opportunities in the investment management sector in particular, but also in the roles servicing the industry.
This matters because Scotland has always punched above its weight in investment terms, contributing to the development of investment management and laying much of the groundwork for the recent focus on sustainable investing.
The squeeze on the sector is, in part, driven by global trends, and there continues to be a host of successful investment companies operating from Edinburgh in particular. However, we fear that there is complacency both around acknowledging where losses have occurred and taking steps to reverse these. While it is true that Scotland has successfully grown its back-office and asset-servicing sectors recently, that does not mean we should casually accept the decline of such a valuable asset. The Scottish investment community is an irreplaceable national resource.
While the successors to the pioneers of the investment trust and life assurance industries continue to do their work, there are many fewer of them doing it today than there were just a few years ago.
With the acknowledgment that there is work to do and the support of government and development agencies at a UK and Scottish level, we believe that the investment sector in Scotland can prosper and continue to play a key role in managing the savings of the UK and the wider world.
David Clarke
Chair, Scottish Committee of CFA UK
Richard Dunbar
Former Chair
Richard Sloss
Member
Edinburgh, UK