PIMFA, the trade association for wealth management, investment services and the investment and financial advice industry, is delighted to welcome the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA), director of life insurance and financial advice, Debbie Gupta as its second keynote speaker at Virtual Fest 2 on March 9 and 10.

Ms Gupta is among a growing roster of pre-eminent speakers to join Virtual Fest which includes chairman of the Work and Pensions Select Committee, and former Pensions Minister, Stephen Timms MP who will be providing an update on the work of the Work and Pensions Select Committee after which will follow a panel discussion on online scams and the Online Safety Bill.

Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) Chief Executive, Caroline Rainbird; and Which? Director of Policy and Advocacy and Chief Economist, Rocio Concha Galguera among others. They join Economic Secretary to HM Treasury John Glen, who will be giving the first keynote address to Virtual Fest.

Mr Timms will be providing an update on the work of the Work and Pensions Select Committee after which will follow a panel discussion on online scams and the Online Safety Bill.

PIMFA is also delighted to announce the addition of both Morningstar as a silver partner and FTAdviser as a media partner to our Virtual Fest. They join PIMFA platinum partner LexisNexis® Risk Solutions and partners Royal London, Worksmart, Octo Members and ERI in supporting the Virtual Fest and will deliver presentations on key areas which members have identified as their key short- and long-term focus including:

• CEO Panel – What Have we Learnt and How to do we Rebuild Together
• The Future of Work – What do You Need to Know?
• What Might 2030 Hold for Financial Advisers?
• Operational Resilience: Lessons Learnt in 2020 & What’s Next in 2021
• The Future of Regulation and more…

Virtual Fest 2 will be a great opportunity for attendees to gain valuable insights, hear from industry experts, earn up to 10 hours of CPD and make connections with fellow colleagues. PIMFA remains dedicated to supporting the continued professional development of its members during this period of continued isolation. The Fest will provide access to a variety of content in the forms of webinars, virtual sessions with speakers & trainers, videos, PDFs and online resources.

Liz Field, Chief Executive of PIMFA, commented: “We are delighted that Debbie Gupta will be joining us for Virtual Fest as well as so many of our other speakers. I’m really looking forward to welcoming delegates to Virtual Fest 2 for what I am sure will be a very informative couple of days.

“Virtual Fest 2 will not only be a chance to discuss current developments in our industry such as financial services equivalence the FSCS levy or our response to COVID-19. It will also be an opportunity to talk about how we reshape our industry for the future, so that the UK financial services industry continues to maintain its place as one of the great finance centres on the globe.