Woodford’s appeal against a multimillion-pound FCA fine and ban is under the spotlight in this episode, with David Masters and Neil Robson asking what the tribunal could uncover - and whether his reputation can ever recover. They examine how cosmetic fixes created only the illusion of liquidity, why the regulator called his understanding of his role “defective and unreasonably narrow,” and how the tribunal could reveal private emails, board minutes and correspondence that reshape the na...

Insider trading, money laundering, and reputational risk in asset management take centre stage in this episode, featuring the recent conviction of Redinel and Oerta Korfuzi. David Masters and Neil Robson examine how confidential market information was exploited, how the FCA uncovered the scheme, and why the asset manager involved avoided lasting reputational fallout. The conversation also considers how remote working exposed new compliance risks and why historic control failures still c...

In this episode, David Masters and Neil Robson unpack the high-stakes appeal by Jes Staley against his lifetime ban from the FCA, and the tangled web of his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein at the heart of this case. The conversation turns to the newly uncovered extent of their relationship, the regulator’s rationale for such a decisive penalty, and whether the appeal has unintentionally magnified public scepticism. Beyond that, it revisits a lesser-known whistle blower episode that ma...

Reputation in financial services is complex, shaped by audience perception and regulatory scrutiny. In this episode, Neil Robson and David Masters dive into the scandals surrounding Crispin Odey and Neil Woodford, exploring how they have not only damaged their personal standings but also raised fundamental questions about trust in the system. While Odey’s primary audience - high-net-worth individuals and institutional investors - may have already distanced themselves, Woodford faces a d...

As social media and generational shifts reshape the world of investment and financial advice, asset managers are facing a new and growing challenge: finfluencers. These social media personalities represent both opportunity and risk. Active on platforms like Instagram and TikTok, they can make finance more accessible, but also present reputational challenges when they promote financial products without following regulations. In this episode, David Masters and Neil Robson together with Emily Al...

Cybersecurity is an issue which continues to dominate headlines, concern investors and have substantial and very real implications for asset and wealth managers. In the data rich world of investment management, understanding the implications of cyber breaches has never been more critical. In this episode, David and Neil examine high-profile breaches such as the Equifax data scandal and NHS ransomware attack. They explore why these failures should be seen more widely as misconduct, common myth...

From trawling The Eighth Day shop on Manchester’s Oxford Road in a long black cloak and dress to chairing the UK’s largest in-house pension asset manager at USS via one of the first graduate trainee schemes for stockbrokers, Sarah Bates has a long, storied and hugely successful career in the City and beyond. She has been a fund manager, a CEO, and has chaired some of the UK’s biggest pension funds. Sarah was also one of the founders of The Diversity Project in 2015 which continues to make sig...

Building a business with a diversified employee base is no longer a nice to have, its necessary, both in terms of talent retention but client retention as well. The regulator is also insisting that financial services firms put in place evidence-based diversity and inclusion strategies that take into account the individual firm's progress on these efforts. The reputational hazards are many. Reputation is mostly driven by behaviour and if you claim to building a diverse team when you are...

An increasingly diverse regulatory landscape presents substantial reputational challenges for investment managers. Amid the shifting ESG terrain at the heart of financial services, investment firms are recalibrating their approach to sustainability, grappling with the balance between upholding ESG principles and avoiding regulatory pitfalls. If you're managing ESG related funds, you could now be fired by some of the very largest pension funds in the U.S. Asset managers need to navigate ...

ESG, and specifically sustainability, is an increasingly controversial topic for investment managers, with diverging regulation in Europe, the US and UK, and rising numbers of reputational hazards to navigate. Many fund companies are removing phrases like “ESG” and “sustainable” from product names, whilst downgrading the obligations that these funds have to the principles of ESG. At the same time, it seems that many investment businesses have been overstating their sustainability ...