Pension fund, asset management and banking executives are on U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves’ meetings list for the coming weeks as she works to pitch the U.K. as an investment destination.
The chancellor has meetings planned first for the World Economic Forum’s annual Davos event, taking place this week in Switzerland, with executives including Toronto-based Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan’s President Jo Taylor, Goldman Sachs Group CEO David Solomon, and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. CEO Jamie Dimon on the list.
OTPP had C$255.8 billion ($187 billion) in assets as of June 30. It has an office in London, and had about C$40 billion in total investments in the U.K. as of Dec. 31, 2023, according to its website.
Reeves will be at Davos alongside Jonathan Reynolds, the U.K.'s business and trade secretary, to tell global business leaders and investors “that the time to invest in Britain is now,” a U.K. Treasury statement said.
“Business leaders and investors need to know that the U.K. is where their businesses will flourish, so I’m meeting them face-to-face in Davos to make our case,” Reeves said in the statement. “We are one of the most exciting places in the world for them to put their money, with a history of innovation, a skilled workforce and a stable government that backs business.”
The government is working to bring further investment into U.K. projects, with a variety of retirement system reforms and other measures. The chancellor visited Canadian pension funds last year to learn lessons, and the government's pension review cited Canadian and Australian retirement plans as inspiration for its proposed changes.
The Treasury also said Jan. 20 that it will host a series of “industry forums” with key subsectors of the financial services industry, including asset management.
Reeves will meet with leaders to seek their views on growing the U.K. economy through its so-called financial services growth and competitiveness strategy.
