Ireland’s Coalition Government of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party this week published its second Legislative Programme since entering office.

Most notably, the Legislative Programme provides an ambitious agenda of climate action policies.

The programme includes a Bill to legally tie Ireland into reducing greenhouse gas emissions; a Bill to give legal powers to the Government to tax and ban products disrupting the circular economy; and a Bill overhauling the planning permission process for the construction of off-shore windfarms.

Join us for the first online discussion in our Trade Miniseries to discuss this timely topic

As the remarkable events of 2020 continue to reshape the corporate landscape, industry consolidation in the investment management space shows no sign of slowing down. Asset management companies have felt the squeeze as competitive pressure, rising regulatory costs and a need to reinvent themselves have sparked a fresh wave of mergers and acquisitions. In this context, we look at the critical importance of reputation in driving value in the eyes of potential acquirers.

Chartwell Strategy Group and Hume Brophy present the first in a series of webinars to help businesses understand the dynamics and implications of this historic election from

We will be joined by Conservative peer Lord Wharton of Yarm, former Hume Brophy Chairman of Public Affairs and Campaign Manager to UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s successful 2019 Conservative leadership campaign, Ozzie Palomo and Matt Epperly, Republican and Democratic strategists, respectively, and founders of Chartwell Strategy Group.

This week, the Government published its long-awaited response to the consultation on proposals to establish ten Freeports across the UK. The initiative is identified as a strategic priority as ministers seek to kickstart the UK’s economic recovery, and deliver on its stated ambition of ‘levelling up’ towns, cities and regions considered to have been left behind.

The response from industry, based on our discussions with business leaders over recent days, has been overwhelmingly positive. The consensus is that the Government’s thinking now goes far beyond what was originally conceived – constituting a comprehensive and holistic approach with the potential to make serious waves.

Eva Kaili MEP discusses the development of EU Policy in the areas of Artificial Intelligence.

Expectations have been building for asset owners (particularly pension schemes) to focus more on Environmental, Social and Governance factors (ESG) as part of their investment strategy – and not only from activist groups. Whilst savers increasingly want to know what is being done with their money, the UK Government is now also determined to harness this capital for good. These new ambitions and rules will certainly bring new challenges to pension schemes and organisations supporting them, but also opportunities for the industry, savers, and the UK economy.

Guy Opperman, Minister for Pensions and Financial Inclusion, shares unique insights into the Government’s Landmark Pension Schemes Bill, including a new measure to mandate climate-related financial risk assessment and reporting and compel trustees to disclose how they have done so to members and the public.

Following the FCA’s asset management study, new rules came into effect in September 2019 requiring UK funds to publish reports demonstrating how they provide value to investors called – annual Assessment of Value (AoV). The assessments are one part of a number of measures introduced by the FCA to ensure fund managers compete on the value they deliver, and act in the interests of the investors who entrust them with their savings. As  investment managers publish their report, we take a look at how they’ve fared so far and what we can expect to happen next.