Saunders set to bow out as head of IMA
THE CHIEF executive of the Investment Management Association (IMA) will step down at the end of 2012 after 11 years in the post.
Richard Saunders, who presided over the creation of the IMA in 2002, said he felt it was time for him to “move on”.
“It has been a great privilege to work with a first-rate team at the IMA and I am very proud of what we have achieved together since the association was set up. I know that my successor will be taking charge of an organisation in very good shape to meet the challenges of the coming years.”
Saunders, 60, is one of the industry’s most high-profile lobbyists and has repeatedly demanded a “fairer” way of funding the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.
Yesterday IMA chairman Douglas Ferrans said Saunders had been a “driving force” in developing a strong voice for the industry.
Saunders was appointed director general of the Association of Unit Trusts and Investment Funds in May 2001 and oversaw its merger with the Fund Managers’ Association in February 2002 to create the IMA, Britain’s first trade association representing the investment management industry across all of its activities.