Pensions, trusts, tariffs & markets, taxes, estate planning, fintech, and debate on the future of products, investments and cross border advice all featured at the II Connect 2025 event, that took place on 20 May in London.

Starting the day was the session featuring Michael Crowe, CEO, Finance Isle of Man, who provided updates from the jurisdiction. He highlighted the ongoing attributes that are attracting product and services providers, including the regulatory environment and its links to UK hubs such as Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds and London and positioning through partnerships with professional networks.

Sustainable finance developments outlined include establishment of a Sustainable Finance Roadmap, establishment of a private carbon credit exchange, and collaboration with the City, Luxembourg and HM Treasury.

Insurance and pensions have grown, with some 1,200 retirement schemes based there. Isle of Man growth targets include creating and filling an additional 5,000 jobs by 2032 with infrastructure capacity to support a population of over 100,000.

SIPP points

Moving on to discuss SIPPs, James Floyd, Managing Director Alltrust and Co-owner and Director The UAP Group provided an update and overview of key developments around SIPPs - a market of £567bn in assets across 5.3m consumers - which is in the spotlight as the market is set to double by 2035 he said. Consumer Duty is putting additional spotlight on the sector.

While the opportunities to access bespoke and cost effective SIPPs is growing, he also touched on fees, pointing out the discussion around break even points for providers, particularly when dealing with clients of sophisticated needs. In turn, he noted that 'Self' could be replaced by 'Sophisticated' in SIPPs dicussions to distinguish between standard consumer needs and those of the type of long term saver who could significantly benefit from the full breadth of investment options with such a pension.

Regarding assets, he touched on commercial property. Held within a pension it is immune to CGT and can be leveraged among other benefits, he argued, therefore should be considered. The discussion around the impact of IHT is valid, but the industry is responding to the pending IHT challenge he added. Solutions will vary depending on the end client needs but it is possible to handle multi-jurisdictional living, planning for multi-generational family needs.

"SIPPs remain the best place for your clients' investments for the next couple of years and thereafter."

Trump tariffs

Justin Oliver, Chief Investment Officer, Canaccord Genuity Funds, spoke on the state of the markets that have been impacted by Trump tariffs and the uncertainty seen in the early part of 2025.  This matters, he noted, because "there is a whole cohort of investors who have never experienced the US underperforming."

The market data shows that Q1 2025 saw the largest underperformance of US since 2009, largely due to Trump, he said. The question is what is the objective of Trump? Tariffs are needed to pay for the tax cuts he promised through the election - estimated at some $8trn - on top of the significant fiscal deficit and debt growth. Tariffs may be part of policy to deal with the debt, but there are significant dangers, such as the risk of a second wave of inflation - that would further unsettle markets.

Trump's approach to making deals also suggests ongoing volatility as markets react to the different stages of his negotiating style.

What matters, however, for markets over time is the profitabilty of US companies. Earnings growth for the Mag7 will continue, but slow down according to forward estimates on themselves versus the broader S&P index. Tech might therefore not keep leading earnings despite the current share of all earnings they account for. Also, investment history suggests that the Mag7 might no longer be as dominant.

AI investments, gold, healthcare may be areas worth looking at over time, also in regards to Trump policy - such as efforts to reduce the cost of healthcare in the US versus the very low per capita expenditure on healthcare in a country like India, which is fast growing.

Further sessions will be reported on in the full event report to follow