Brunel CIO attends National Wealth Fund plenary at 11 Downing Street

David Vickers and members of the National Wealth Fund Taskforce today met with the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, and the Energy & Net Zero Secretary, Ed Miliband, at a plenary at 11, Downing Street to mark the forthcoming creation a new National Wealth Fund.

The National Wealth Fund Taskforce, an independent body, was commissioned by Rachel Reeves and is chaired by Rhian Mari-Thomas, CEO of the Green Finance Institute (GFI). The National Wealth Fund Taskforce Report was published today by the GFI.

The Fund will benefit from £7.3 billion of UK government investment with the aim of crowding in private investment into priority Net Zero sectors in order to support the green transition.

“Building a green economy requires a step-change in coordination between the government and investors, so that the policy & regulatory environment is truly enabling for long-term investors,” said David Vickers, Brunel CIO. “The National Wealth Fund comes at a crucial moment in the political cycle to help set that course.”

Brunel is a strong advocate of engagement between government and investors on the road to Net Zero, and of the need for policy to create the best environment for the transition. We have engaged with parties on both sides of the political divide, as we have with different governments.

“This new government has rightly identified infrastructure investment as a core enabler of building high value, low carbon, competitive industries,” said Mark Carney in the press release published today. “The smart use of public investment via the National Wealth Fund can kick start economic growth and crowd in private capital to vital sectors including ports, heavy industry and manufacturing.