From the Director

Even the football (I shudder at the word soccer) has not distracted us at NCC from the opportunity presented by a change of tenant in No 10. This political change could represent a fantastic chance to reset the UK's relationship with the investment system and promote new ideas to make it work better for all. Those of us who care about this must seize the opportunity.

We were delighted to recently host a cross-party group of MPs at Chatham House seeking to do just that, finding consensus beyond the political divide in a panel discussion on how to revive UK investment flows. The panel were clear and in agreement that action is needed now to address issues around risk-bearing, overseas flow of capital, fragmentation and herd-mentality. This was a sentiment shared by the vast majority of the audience who were drawn from a range of backgrounds in the financial services and regulatory sector.

The reality is that there is no shortage of money in the UK. Our latest research highlights that there are £6.1 tn of investable assets in the UK pensions and savings system, an increase of almost half a trillion since last year. The problem is our ability to allocate this strategically, at scale and for the long-term,  to move the dial on growth in the UK economy and improve the places that UK savers will retire in. 

Andy Haldane in his recent speech to the British Chamber of Commerce's Global Annual Conference recognised this need and noted that "...in 2000, over half of UK pension assets went into UK equities. Today, it is less than 5%. In money terms, that is a divestment from UK companies of more than £2.5 trillion – roughly the market cap of every UK-headquartered listed company."

Andy also noted that the Government extends more in pension tax relief than it spends on defence, yet these benefits are conferred without any accompanying commitment to support UK growth.

The new PM needs larger pools of investment capital able to invest long-term in the UK, in illiquid assets and ideally pool risk. We believe that UK funds not wishing to do so should not enjoy the same UK tax benefits. As the MPs at our event highlighted, these measures are no longer about party politics but national interest - the time for courage and action is now.

Ashok Gupta

Director of New Capital Consensus

The Policy Landscape - News and Thinking

MP's call for more action on investment in the UK

A leading group of Members of Parliament on financial services issues spoke at a New Capital Consensus event at Chatham House on 18th June. The panel discussion, chaired by former Treasury minister and now Group Head of Policy Development at Barclays, Kitty Ussher, saw former City Minister The Rt Hon John Glen MP, SNP Treasury Spokesperson Kirsty Blackman MP, Labour Treasury Committee member John Grady MP, and Lib Dem Business Spokesperson Sarah Olney MP come together to discuss how best to revive UK investment flows and the current policy landscape. The room was packed with attendees from the financial press, asset managers, industry bodies, regulators, trade associations and think tanks, all there to contribute to the discussion.

You can read more about the main points the MPs put forward in this article from Tara O'Connor in the FT Adviser - read more here.

You can also watch Ashok's presentation in the YouTube link here.

Andy Haldane Field of Dreams speech

Former Bank of England Chief Economist Andy Haldane recently gave a speech at the British Chamber of Commerce 2026 Global Annual Conference which he titled "field of dreams".

Using language very similar to NCC's, he discussed the issues with the current plumbing of the financial system and the fact the UK's potential for high growth and prosperity should not be a dream but a reality. Haldane emphasised that the UK remains a global hub of innovation and research, with a large volume of successful companies being built here, but that this doesn't translate into long-term UK growth and success stories as there isn't the right scale-up capital from the UK, or companies are lost to overseas investors. 

He reminded attendees that the UK has large pools of investment capital, but that this needs to be better deployed and that levers such as tax incentives for investment into UK companies should be considered.

£6.1 trillion UK investment capital

NCC's Leeds University researcher, Dr Sania Wadud, latest research shows that the size of the investment capital available in the UK savings and pensions ecosystem now sits at £6.1tn. Her findings indicate that the UK's investable assets grew by £457bn since last year.

What is the 'social contract'

The Centre for Social Justice has produced a new think piece exploring the concept of the “social contract”. It examines its intellectual origins in early modern European political thought, and traces the development of the idea through key social contract thinkers like Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, and John Rawls. 

New Capital Consensus would argue that, with the investment system being a public good, nothing could go further to repairing that social contract in the UK than repairing the links between savers and the places they retire in.

Reports from Think Tanks and Trade Bodies

• WPI Economics, supported by Standard Life, recently released a report that sets out what the future of defined contribution pensions could look like especially as the DC space consolidates and "megafunds" emerge that could be better positioned to invest in private assets and support UK growth.
• Hargreaves Lansdown have released new findings on retirement spending patterns and how this is linked to income.

NCC Policy Corner - Superfunds Explained

The potential of Superfunds is immense and remains a key issue that New Capital Consensus believes can allow proper vehicles to be set up that enable more flexibility and capability to invest in the long-term interests of DB members and the society they live in.

NCC have put together a Q and A briefing that is designed to help policy makers and anyone working on pensions issues to better understand Superfunds, how they can be enabled, and why they can be a vehicle for domestic growth.

Read more here.

NCC in the News

Letter: UK Pensioners are already paying a price for the SpaceX IPO

Last month, New Capital Consensus sent a letter to the Financial Times discussing the implications of the SpaceX IPO for British pensioners due to indexing. Read more.

"UK will not improve investment attitudes with inaction"

The FT Adviser covered NCC's recent Chatham House event which convened a leading group of cross-party MPs to discuss how to revive UK investment flows. Read more.

Upcoming Events

• City Minister to be guest of honour at summer event: NCC's partner, Radix Big Tent, will be hosting a strictly invite-only parliamentary drinks reception in the summer. We are delighted to share that the new City Minister, Rachel Blake MP, will be the guest of honour.                                                                                                                                       

• Get in touch: If you are a parliamentarian or staffer and would like to find out more information or arrange a meeting with New Capital Consensus, please email Francis Bell: francis@newcapitalconsensus.org

About New Capital Consensus                                                                                                     

New Capital Consensus (NCC) is a coalition of independent and apolitical organisations, including Chatham House, Radix Big Tent, FinSTIC (Financial Systems Thinking Innovation Centre), and the Leeds University Business School, exploring how the investment system can be reformed to produce better outcomes for savers and society.