BLOG: Meet our Policy Executive, Steve Latto
As part of this month’s Engage issue, we caught up with Steve Latto, the newest member of our team and our Policy Executive. In this Q&A, Steve shares his background, what brought him to TISA, and his early reflections on the role, along with the key policy areas he’ll be focusing on in the months ahead.
Steve will be chairing our CASS Spring Forum in London on 20th April so be sure to say hello if you’re attending.
- Please introduce yourself and tell us what brought you to TISA.
I started off my career with a big four accountancy firm, before moving into financial services. Early on in my financial services career, I was introduced to TISA. To give you an indication when that was, it was when PEPs still existed(!) and TISA was focused on providing support and guidance to PEP managers. Since then, I’ve held various managerial roles within platform and investment management businesses. These have included a number of product roles, technical roles and operational roles. In one of operational roles, I had responsibility for overseeing a large investment manager’s compliance with the FCA’s client asset (CASS) rules.
Throughout my career I have kept a close eye on the various initiatives TISA has been involved with – and the benefits these have delivered to both UK consumers and the financial services industry.
When the TISA Policy Executive role was advertised, I decided to apply. Not only did I consider it a good match to my skillset and experience, I recognised the opportunity to work with key financial services industry stakeholders to help shape the future of the UK financial services sector to deliver solutions that will benefit UK consumers at a truly pivotal and critical time for investing and saving.
- You’ve now been with TISA for about a month – how has your first month been?
My first few weeks have passed very quickly. I received a very warm welcome from each of TISA’s teams. The organisation has a very positive culture, with everyone focused on supporting member firms and delivering on our key objectives. I have also had the opportunity to engage with key contacts at member firms which has, again, shown the great partnerships that exist and I am looking forward to building further connections.
- What policy areas will you be covering, and where can our members expect to see you?
From a policy perspective, I will be leading on client assets (CASS) and financial crime prevention. Member firm representatives will see me at working group meetings and at events. The first of those events is the CASS Spring Forum in London on 20th April. We have a great range of speakers at the event and I am looking forward to meeting with member firm representatives at the Forum (including those faces that will be very familiar to me)!
- What key issues do you see shaping the UK investing and saving landscape at the moment, and how do you expect these to evolve in the coming months?
Clearly, there is the broader need for people to save and invest more to meet their future needs, particularly for retirement. Accordingly, the various live initiatives, such as Workplace Savings, have a critical role to play to provide easy and accessible saving and investment opportunities for individuals. Individuals need to have the knowledge and confidence to make saving and investment decisions on a personal level. It will be interesting to see how the Targeted Support model evolves over the coming months and the impact it starts to have to help build the confidence required. This is all taking place at a time when technology, in particular artificial intelligence, is revolutionising how we operate, engage, interact and learn. We need to identify and take advantage of the opportunities that these changes bring, whilst recognising the risks.
At a personal level, it is great to see TISA at the centre of so many of these strategic conversations and how it is actively helping to shape the future of the UK saving and investment landscape at such a vital time. I am excited at the thought of being able to play my part in those conversations.
- Looking ahead, what are you most excited to work on with TISA members?
That really links back to my previous answer and the potential for the various initiatives and developments to radically change the saving and investment landscape. I am keen to work with TISA members to ensure that we come together as an industry to ensure they all have a positive impact, helping to improve the financial wellbeing of UK consumers.
MEET STEVE AT OUR CASS SPRING FORUM IN LONDON – 20th April
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