![\"Lucy](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Lucy-Rigby-has-earned-praise-from-fintech-bosses.jpg\")
\t\tLucy Riby was collared by fintech bosses over pension funds’ low UK allocation\t<\/p>\n\t\t\tWednesday 22 April 2026 2:00 am
\n\t\t\t\t\t\u00a0|\u00a0\u00a0Updated:\u00a0<\/p>\n
\t\t\tTuesday 21 April 2026 7:27 pm\n\t<\/p>\n
\t\tLucy Riby was collared by fintech bosses over pension funds’ low UK allocation\t<\/p>\n
The fintech industry are on the offensive and in this week\u2019s column Samuel Norman gives an insight into the sector\u2019s lobbying calls for pension fund allocation.<\/p>\n
London has found itself brought to a halt this week.<\/a><\/p>\n One may have thought the Tube strikes would bring Square Mile to a standstill, too. But the lack of running tubes didn\u2019t stop the fintech industry from steamrolling to the Guildhall on Tuesday. Fintech bigwigs gathered for Innovate Finance\u2019s Global Fintech summit<\/a>, where policymakers, regulators and industry chewed the fat over what lever to pull to supercharge the sector and wider economy.<\/p>\n Though on-stage chinwags were a mere sideshow compared to the behind the scenes rumbles that the industry fought through a tube-less London to wage. City AM readers will remember that it was indeed these pages that first revealed the details of crunch talks between the Treasury, regulators and industry this week.<\/a> And on Monday and Tuesday, several discreet roundtables packed industry chiefs\u2019 calendars. It is conversations with those in attendance that unveil the one issue consistently topping the docket.<\/p>\n Ahead of taking to the grandest stage in the fintech realm, City minister Lucy Rigby held a roundtable with a number of the industry\u2019s unicorns. The industry has heaped praise on the economic secretary since she took up the role in September, with one boss stating she was one of the few ministers to grace the brief who \u201cgets it\u201d. Though this has also been accompanied with growing fears she may soon rise up the ranks.<\/p>\n Before Rigby could even grace her roundtable on Tuesday, however, the agenda already seemed set. Members were already hashing through the lack of those at the table who were raising funds coming from the UK. And one source in that meeting tells me of the hour and half slot given, around an hour and 10 minutes of this was devoted to one agenda item: pension fund allocation \u2013 or a distinct lack of it.\u00a0<\/p>\n One attendee says: \u201cIf you\u2019re a larger company and raising money, you are rarely raising from the UK.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cPension funds retreated into the background,\u201d they add. Another fintech unicorn boss makes the argument that the companies they are asking them to invest in are \u201chighly profitable\u201d and not \u201csome Series C\u201d investment.\u00a0<\/p>\n The chatter puts the fintech industry in the centre of a brewing row engulfing the City as the government pushes ahead with its Pension Schemes Bill, which has just passed through the Lords and is in the final stages for amendments. The bill is designed to modernise the pensions market through forced consolidation of smaller pension pots into \u201cmegafunds\u201d.<\/p>\n Though the bill\u2019s controversial \u201creserve power\u201d has sparked controversy<\/a> among top pension chiefs as it allows the government to legally compel pension schemes to invest a specific percentage of their assets into specific asset classes.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tRead more<\/p>\n \t\t\tUK fintech chiefs switch growth plans as capital conditions wane<\/a><\/p>\n One fintech unicorn suggests the government opting to not grab the \u201chammer\u201d of a full-fat mandate left the mission less likely to succeed. Though later conversations revealed the industry was split on the matter with many acknowledging mandate may not be the path to get the capital taps flowing.<\/p>\n Beyond the surface-level access to capital, a darker cloud follows the issue. In her panel, Lucy Rigby dressed the matter up as \u201cdirection of travel\u201d.<\/p>\n Fintech\u2019s capital fears<\/p>\n But the movement of fintech IPO prospects holds much more significance than landing in any old direction. And this view is clearly considered by the Treasury, with it no secret they have made efforts to court potential candidates for a listing. Though among the handful of issues raised by ripe candidates, capital woes continue to dominate.<\/p>\n Those very fears have continued to overwhlem the fintech listing debate since Wise ditched its primary listing in London in favour of the deeper pools of liquidity offered in New York. It\u2019s a path that many fear much more will tread should a major lever not be pulled. Just this week, figures from Chatsworth and Censuswide revealed seven in 10 bosses were switching growth plans due to the UK\u2019s waning access to capital climate.<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Revolut](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Revolut.jpg\")
Many of Revolut\u2019s late-stage investors are from overseas\u2018Retreating\u2019 pension funds<\/p>\n![\"PhilandSean](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/PhilandSean-ZilchCo-Founders.jpeg\")
Co-founders of Zilch, Phil and Sean.<\/p>\n