The Exchanges

Q What concerns you most in the world today?

A This conversation alone illustrates that things aren't binary, things are complicated, there's lots of shades of grey. We don't create much space to have those truly fundamental conversations about those shades of grey. We create a lot of space to say, well, I'm on this side of the argument, and you're on that side of the argument, and I'm going to shoot my metaphorical arrows at you. Um, how we find the space to actually have the nuanced understanding about how you balance, for example, um, the cost of transition to Um, the cost of transition to net zero, and the consequences of doing so, and the demands it's going to place on people, um, recognizing that actually it's not all binary, but it's been constructed as such, and there are trade-offs, and society needs to agree those. We need to find spaces to have those conversations. Algorithms that...

AI assessment note: “We don't create much space to have those truly fundamental conversations about those shades of grey.”

Q Final one. You said about, like, the sexiness of the US. Is there anything that we can learn from the US in terms of how they present themselves and the product that they sell to be more sexy?

A Yeah, it's, it's, it's an interesting question. I, there are some, it's a, it's a really interesting tension. Some of the things that are special about the city are that we have been doing the same thing for hundreds and hundreds of years, actually. And it's part of our strength. And, and some of our, our longevity at doing these great things as a, as a nation, as a city, are things that we should celebrate. But you can, you can That's why I describe what I run as a 300 year fintech. Both statements are true. You know, we've existed for 300 years. What we do in terms of purpose is the same today as it was 300 years ago. I describe our job as a convener to bring together those who have capital with those who need capital and service and objective. The way we do it technologically is transformed even from how we did it 10 years ago, let alone how we did it 30 years ago or did it 40 years ago. And so the technology that we use is some of the most cutting edge technology in the world, and I run a tech company. Um, people don't think of me that way. That's what I do. Um, and so some of it is just about how we kind of explain ourselves, talk about ourselves, and then add more celebration to the success of the companies that list on the market, um, and make sure that they're more visible and make sure that people go, yeah, that's where I want to be. Um, And that's the thing that we're…

AI assessment note: “some of it is just about how we kind of explain ourselves, talk about ourselves”

Q No, but they'll live in other parts of Europe. They'll live in Dubai. They'll live in much more friendly taxes. I guess my question to you is, do you see that, that London's lost its competitiveness for the best developers, or not?

A I think there's a broader point. The FCA made a very, very overt decision in the teensies, or whatever we call it, to create a sandboxing environment for fintechs to be able to start out. The likes of the Revolutes, the Monzos, Etc. Started because the UK created the best possible regulatory environment for them to do so. Now other people have followed it and copied that. Absolutely. Um, but that is something we should be really proud of. And that was a conscious choice on the part of our country to do so. If you then say, okay, the company, the country is now making a really conscious choice to make sure that we've got the best possible funding continuum for people to get access to capital, to be able to start, grow, scale, and stay here. And make sure that we're incentivizing our institutional money to invest in that part of the ecosystem as well. And the conversation that is going on at the moment about regulation is about outcomes based regulation that is less checkboxy and gets the balance right in terms of the right kind of protections, but the right kind of enabling of innovation and growth. Then we've got a pretty good track record of doing it already. Um, and if we want to create UK based companies, then That's the right ecosystem to shift to. And I think that's the conversation that's happening right now.

AI assessment note: “I think there's a broader point.”

Q Final one. You said about, like, the sexiness of the US. Is there anything that we can learn from the US in terms of how they present themselves and the product that they sell to be more sexy?

A Yeah, it's, it's, it's an interesting question. I, there are some, it's a, it's a really interesting tension. Some of the things that are special about the city are that we have been doing the same thing for hundreds and hundreds of years, actually. And it's part of our strength. And, and some of our, our longevity at doing these great things as a, as a nation, as a city, are things that we should celebrate. But you can, you can That's why I describe what I run as a 300 year fintech. Both statements are true. You know, we've existed for 300 years. What we do in terms of purpose is the same today as it was 300 years ago. I describe our job as a convener to bring together those who have capital with those who need capital and service and objective. The way we do it technologically is transformed even from how we did it 10 years ago, let alone how we did it 30 years ago or did it 40 years ago. And so the technology that we use is some of the most cutting edge technology in the world, and I run a tech company. Um, people don't think of me that way. That's what I do. Um, and so some of it is just about how we kind of explain ourselves, talk about ourselves, and then add more celebration to the success of the companies that list on the market, um, and make sure that they're more visible and make sure that people go, yeah, that's where I want to be. Um, And that's the thing that we're…

AI assessment note: “some of it is just about how we kind of explain ourselves, talk about ourselves”

Q Do you think Brexit hurt or helped the UK markets in the long term?

A I think making sure that when you have to rely on your own recognizance, as it were, because the city got bigger every year because the single market got bigger, you know, but actually going, okay, what is our job both to drive our place as a global financial center and to drive the UK economy? And are we properly structured to do that? I think it forced us to have that conversation in a way that we might not have had as thoroughly otherwise. Um, and we have always had a globally significant Capital market, you know, and this is the thing that is sort of forgotten in, for most of the first few weeks of January, we were the largest equity capital market in the world by capital raised, ahead of NASDAQ. Um, we are the, I mean, as of today, if you take the 20, 24, 25 numbers by total capital raised, the only equity capital market countries in the world that are bigger than us are the US and India. Everywhere else is behind us. We're the only European market in the top 10, and we raised more equity capital last year than the next three European venues combined. We forget that as a nation. We fixate constantly on the US. Um, yes, the US is a huge capital market, um, but if you want great companies to be able to start here, grow here, scale here, and stay here, if you want UK investors to have access to the best possible fast-growing assets that give them the right returns that mean t…

AI assessment note: “I think it forced us to have that conversation in a way that we might not”

Q No, but they'll live in other parts of Europe. They'll live in Dubai. They'll live in much more friendly taxes. I guess my question to you is, do you see that, that London's lost its competitiveness for the best developers, or not?

A I think there's a broader point. The FCA made a very, very overt decision in the teensies, or whatever we call it, to create a sandboxing environment for fintechs to be able to start out. The likes of the Revolutes, the Monzos, Etc. Started because the UK created the best possible regulatory environment for them to do so. Now other people have followed it and copied that. Absolutely. Um, but that is something we should be really proud of. And that was a conscious choice on the part of our country to do so. If you then say, okay, the company, the country is now making a really conscious choice to make sure that we've got the best possible funding continuum for people to get access to capital, to be able to start, grow, scale, and stay here. And make sure that we're incentivizing our institutional money to invest in that part of the ecosystem as well. And the conversation that is going on at the moment about regulation is about outcomes based regulation that is less checkboxy and gets the balance right in terms of the right kind of protections, but the right kind of enabling of innovation and growth. Then we've got a pretty good track record of doing it already. Um, and if we want to create UK based companies, then That's the right ecosystem to shift to. And I think that's the conversation that's happening right now.

AI assessment note: “I think there's a broader point. The FCA made a very, very overt decision”

Q Why can't we not just have our pension funds invest directly like CPPIB or Ontario Teachers Fund do?

A Well, that's an awful lot of what the UK regulatory reform is looking at. So a lot of the things that are on the reform agenda for the UK, and should I talk you through it? Yeah, yeah, please do. Probably rather than jumping back and forth. We talk about the reform agenda in the UK as being five fingers in the glove. And the logic as well is, is it's nice to have a thumb, but if you don't have the other four fingers, it's not as useful as a hat. So you need to actually get everything done. What are the quality of your primary and secondary capital raising rules? Are they actually, do they allow the broadest range of companies to come onto your market? And then do they give you them the maximum sort of strategic flexibility once they get onto the market? We changed our rules last year. We are now on a par with anywhere else in the world in terms of the flexibility and usefulness of our listing rules. They hadn't actually been changed since the eighties in any material fashion.

AI assessment note: “Well, that's an awful lot of what the UK regulatory reform is looking at.”

Q What have you changed your mind on in the last 12 months?

A Uh, lots of things. I, I, it's not, I always have this phrase, I don't need to be right, I need us to get to the right answer. So, the question is, how do you create that group of people around you where you, you know the objective you're trying to achieve, and then you all co-curate how to get there, but you've got people in the room who are going to poke you and prod you and go, ah, but have you thought about that, and have you thought about that, and actually, Julia, no, I know you've been kind of hooked on this, but here's a problem with it, how about we think about it that way? So, I'll have my mind changed every day. That's what it should be. The most important thing is to understand how, is to make the best possible decision you can in the moment with the information that you've got, recognizing that as you get more information you need to evolve kind of what you think. So the things that I thought probably in the reform agenda were the most important things to focus on actually have either become less important or they've been fixed and other things have become more important.

AI assessment note: “I don't need to be right, I need us to get to the right answer”

Q What have you changed your mind on in the last 12 months?

A Uh, lots of things. I, I, it's not, I always have this phrase, I don't need to be right, I need us to get to the right answer. So, the question is, how do you create that group of people around you where you, you know the objective you're trying to achieve, and then you all co-curate how to get there, but you've got people in the room who are going to poke you and prod you and go, ah, but have you thought about that, and have you thought about that, and actually, Julia, no, I know you've been kind of hooked on this, but here's a problem with it, how about we think about it that way? So, I'll have my mind changed every day. That's what it should be. The most important thing is to understand how, is to make the best possible decision you can in the moment with the information that you've got, recognizing that as you get more information you need to evolve kind of what you think. So the things that I thought probably in the reform agenda were the most important things to focus on actually have either become less important or they've been fixed and other things have become more important.

AI assessment note: “I'll have my mind changed every day. That's what it should be.”

Q Why can't we not just have our pension funds invest directly like CPPIB or Ontario Teachers Fund do?

A Well, that's an awful lot of what the UK regulatory reform is looking at. So a lot of the things that are on the reform agenda for the UK, and should I talk you through it? Yeah, yeah, please do. Probably rather than jumping back and forth. We talk about the reform agenda in the UK as being five fingers in the glove. And the logic as well is, is it's nice to have a thumb, but if you don't have the other four fingers, it's not as useful as a hat. So you need to actually get everything done. What are the quality of your primary and secondary capital raising rules? Are they actually, do they allow the broadest range of companies to come onto your market? And then do they give you them the maximum sort of strategic flexibility once they get onto the market? We changed our rules last year. We are now on a par with anywhere else in the world in terms of the flexibility and usefulness of our listing rules. They hadn't actually been changed since the eighties in any material fashion.

AI assessment note: “that's an awful lot of what the UK regulatory reform is looking at.”