By Timothy Adler on Small Business – Advice and Ideas for UK Small Businesses and SMEs
EXCLUSIVE: The key to small business investment lies in the hands of those who pay into pensions, chancellor Rishi Sunak said this afternoon.
Mr Sunak said that it was up to everyone who pays into a pension to tell pension funds that they want some of their money invested in technology start-ups.
“Making sure these companies have access to capital is critical,” said Mr Sunak.
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The chancellor, who hosted the first Treasury Connect event in East London this afternoon, was in listening mode, taking in the observations of Pension Bee founder Romina Suvova, who said it was difficult for institutional invest to put money into unquoted companies.
One takeaway from the event, which brought together tech founders with Treasury mandarins, was the three-way disconnect between tech start-ups, which need investment – especially at the later stage – institutional pension funds and the public, who would support a small percentage of their pension to support fast-growth businesses.
The UK’s pension funds control £4tr of cash paid in by up to 30m people through workplace pensions, making the UK the second-largest pension