2017 Hot List Recipient
2020 Hot List Recipient
2021 CEO of the Year
Accolades
Media
Milestones
1996
2006
2013
2014
2019
2016–present
Individual registration introduced at the Personal Investment Authority
1996
Croft answers the phone call that leads him to a job at the LMG Secretariat
2006
Croft incorporates Placing Platform Limited (PPL)
2013
Croft co-authors the first London Matters report
2014
Croft guides the LIIBA community through the FCA’s Wholesale Insurance Broker Market Study
2019
Croft guides the LIIBA community through Brexit
2016–present
Looking back, looking forward – one CEO’s journey
Like for the vast majority of his peers, Christopher Croft's journey into the London insurance market was something of a happy accident.
When the chief executive of the London & International Insurance Brokers’ Association (LIIBA) first left university, he had no clear vision of what he wanted to do with his degree in philosophy, politics and economics. Considering a career in government, Croft ended up spending a year as an economist at the Department of Transport, working on railway privatisation – an experience he describes as “soul-destroying”.
From there he was propelled into the financial services regulatory sphere, first serving at the Personal Investment Authority (PIA), which went on to become the Financial Services Authority (FSA) and was later split to form the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential Regulatory Authority (PRA). It was at the tail end of a 10-year stint there that he started to become involved in the introduction of regulation for insurance brokers, which introduced him to the London market and, subsequently, his role at the LIIBA.
Looking back on his time with the regulator, Croft reflects on the achievements that stand out for him and how, during that period, he led the team that introduced an individual contract relationship between financial advisers and the PIA. That was quite a meaty piece of work, and as well as being successful, he says, it was the forerunner of the work he still does today – reminding the FCA that it needs to be very disciplined and only intervene when there’s evidence of market failure and with a proportionate response.
“And this I suspect will baffle quite a lot of people these days, and I like to think it’s because things have deteriorated since my day! But my last sort of big [agenda item] was to lead a program trying to make the FSA easier to get hold of,” he says. “We’d established that there were at least 28 different phone numbers that you could ring up thinking it was the regulator, and it would be better if there was one.”
The LIIBA is the trade association for Lloyd’s brokers, 98% of which make up its membership, and the organisation exists to ease the burden facing members and deliver the right tax and regulatory environment to allow these businesses to thrive. The LIIBA does the heavy lifting in terms of liaising with governments and regulators, Croft says, leaving brokers free to get on with the more exciting elements of their role – ie doing the right thing by their clients and running thriving businesses.
A key focus for Croft and the LIIBA in 2022 is on easing the regulatory burden facing the association’s members, and his work in the regulatory sphere has granted him a unique insight into the inner machinations of the financial watchdog. He points out that while the regulator has a hugely complex committee structure that lends itself to a mass of hurdles, he has found that if you have good ideas and you can back them up, you can always find a way to get things done.
With a wealth of experience on both sides of the equation, Croft says when it comes to evaluating the weight of the regulatory burden facing brokers, it is not a question of the watchdog's current approach being “heavy-handed”. However, he adds, it does seem to lack precision and discipline when it comes to doling out instructions.
“The point of regulators in imperfectly competitive capitalist markets is that your fundamental philosophy is that markets work as a way of distributing scarce resources,” he says. “You should only intervene in the markets where there’s obvious evidence that the market isn’t working for some reason, and you as a regulator can do something to fix it. And I don’t think they’re disciplined enough about that.”
If you look at some of the consultations that the FCA produces, Croft says, there is often not enough evidence of failure in the specific markets that the regulator then allows the scope of its intervention to touch upon. Looking at the current fair value insurance product review, this has been triggered by evidence of the poor treatment of some clients during renewals in the domestic home and motor markets.
Not many people would dispute that there have been issues there, he says, and, through its reviews, the FCA has introduced some quite sensible ways of addressing that. But by not being precise about the scope of what it's doing, the FCA has allowed the scope of that intervention to spread into the LIIBA’s corner of the market, where there isn’t that evidence of market failure.
“And it’s an incredibly costly process, and in some instances actually not possible to comply with because of the way that our business is structured,” Croft says. “So, it’s not heavy-handed; it’s [about] being precise about what you’re trying to achieve and making sure you limit that scope appropriately so you’re not introducing burden where it isn’t merited.”
Spotlight
“[For the LIIBA], I think 2022 is the year that we can potentially make a very significant difference in the way that our industry is regulated,” he says. “We’ve been making the case, ever since I took this role, that the FCA doesn’t distinguish sufficiently between retail insurance brokers selling home and motor policies to members of the general public, and our members who are doing something very different in that they are, in general, expert risk management consultants working with sophisticated corporate clients.
“The regulatory regime should really reflect that, and there should be a more proportionate [response]. I hesitate to use the phrase ‘lighter touch’, because it has fallen on bad times in the past, but there should be a recognition that the clients our members deal with are people who don’t need to be looked after quite as much as members of the general public. With the ongoing Treasury consultation – and with other things [including] the evidence I gave the House of Lords' inquiry last week looking at the regulation of our sector – there’s a real chance to make a difference. And that could be a seismic change for our brokers, so that’s my big hope for the year.”
The London & International Insurance Brokers’ Association (LIIBA) serves the interests of Lloyd’s insurance and reinsurance brokers operating in the London and international markets. Its origin can be traced back to the early 20th century and, since its foundation, the association has gathered the support of the vast majority of Lloyd’s brokers – accounting for about 98% of the market.
Company Profile
1910
YEAR LIIBA FOUNDED
2016
Year Croft becomes chief executive
~50%
Percentage of LIIBA members employing ≤ 10 people
98%
PROPORTION OF London brokers LIIBA represents
152
No. of LIIBA
fee-paying members
Bio
Spotlight
Milestones
Media
Accolades
Company Profile
Years of Experience
25+
Tenure in current position
2016 - present
BAsed In
Toronto, Ont.
Fast Fact
While at the FSA, Croft led a campaign to make the regulator more accessible to those who needed to get in touch
Christopher Croft
Chief executive of the London & International Insurance Brokers’ Association
Christopher Croft’s career to date has taken him from government to regulatory bodies. Now everything has come together to allow him to serve the brokers that make up the London market
Read on
“I think 2022 is the year that we can potentially make a very significant difference in the way that our industry is regulated”
Christopher Croft,
London & International Insurance Brokers’ Association
“You should only intervene in the markets where there’s obvious evidence that the market isn’t working for some reason, and you as a regulator can do something to fix it”
Christopher Croft,
London & International Insurance Brokers’ Association
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2017 Hot List Recipient
2020 Hot List Recipient
2021 CEO of the Year
Accolades
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2011
2012
2015
2016
2019
2021
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2011
Curabitur feugiat eget leo id tempus. Maecenas commodo, nibh at ultricies pulvinar, ipsum erat porta metus, et tempus justo tellus euismod dolor.
2012
Curabitur feugiat eget leo id tempus. Maecenas commodo, nibh at ultricies pulvinar, ipsum erat porta metus, et tempus justo tellus euismod dolor.
2015
Curabitur feugiat eget leo id tempus. Maecenas commodo, nibh at ultricies pulvinar, ipsum erat porta metus, et tempus justo tellus euismod dolor.
2016
Curabitur feugiat eget leo id tempus. Maecenas commodo, nibh at ultricies pulvinar, ipsum erat porta metus, et tempus justo tellus euismod dolor.
2019
Curabitur feugiat eget leo id tempus. Maecenas commodo, nibh at ultricies pulvinar, ipsum erat porta metus, et tempus justo tellus euismod dolor.
2021
Spotlight
Fundserv is the indispensable connectivity hub for the Canadian investment industry. Headquartered in Toronto, we electronically connect Manufacturers, Distributors, and Intermediaries, enabling them to buy, sell, and transfer investment funds. With more than 100 employees, Fundserv serves hundreds of members—executing up to 63 million yearly network transactions—and provides online access to more than 70,000 investment fund products.
Established in 1993, Fundserv is a private corporation that is owned by the industry we serve. Our 10 shareholders are a cross-section of Manufacturers, Distributors, and Service Providers who represent our members.
We operate using a cost-recovery model, meaning any unused profit may be rebated back to our members. In addition to our network and applications, we lead and facilitate industry committees and working groups that promote automation initiatives and establish the industry’s electronic standards.
By ensuring every trade is processed timely, accurately, and securely, Fundserv has rightfully earned a reputation for service excellence—a hallmark of more than 25 years in the investment industry.
Company Profile
1983
YEAR FOUNDED
100
MANPOWER
43%
PROPORTION OF WOMEN AMONG FUNDSERV EMPLOYEES
60%
PROPORTION OF WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP
63,514,128
NUMBER OF ORDERS PROCESSED IN 2019
Years of Experience
25+
Tenure in current position
2016 - present
BAsed In
Toronto, Ont.
Fast Fact
Gaining international experience and learning about different people and cultures
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Share
LEADER PROFILe
Top
Insight Leaders
Overview
General Stats
Insights
Share
2017 Hot List Recipient
2020 Hot List Recipient
2021 CEO of the Year
Accolades
Media
Milestones
2011
2012
2015
2016
2019
2021
Curabitur feugiat eget leo id tempus. Maecenas commodo, nibh at ultricies pulvinar, ipsum erat porta metus, et tempus justo tellus euismod dolor.
2011
Curabitur feugiat eget leo id tempus. Maecenas commodo, nibh at ultricies pulvinar, ipsum erat porta metus, et tempus justo tellus euismod dolor.
2012
Curabitur feugiat eget leo id tempus. Maecenas commodo, nibh at ultricies pulvinar, ipsum erat porta metus, et tempus justo tellus euismod dolor.
2015
Curabitur feugiat eget leo id tempus. Maecenas commodo, nibh at ultricies pulvinar, ipsum erat porta metus, et tempus justo tellus euismod dolor.
2016
Curabitur feugiat eget leo id tempus. Maecenas commodo, nibh at ultricies pulvinar, ipsum erat porta metus, et tempus justo tellus euismod dolor.
2019
Curabitur feugiat eget leo id tempus. Maecenas commodo, nibh at ultricies pulvinar, ipsum erat porta metus, et tempus justo tellus euismod dolor.
2021
Spotlight
Fundserv is the indispensable connectivity hub for the Canadian investment industry. Headquartered in Toronto, we electronically connect Manufacturers, Distributors, and Intermediaries, enabling them to buy, sell, and transfer investment funds. With more than 100 employees, Fundserv serves hundreds of members—executing up to 63 million yearly network transactions—and provides online access to more than 70,000 investment fund products.
Established in 1993, Fundserv is a private corporation that is owned by the industry we serve. Our 10 shareholders are a cross-section of Manufacturers, Distributors, and Service Providers who represent our members.
We operate using a cost-recovery model, meaning any unused profit may be rebated back to our members. In addition to our network and applications, we lead and facilitate industry committees and working groups that promote automation initiatives and establish the industry’s electronic standards.
By ensuring every trade is processed timely, accurately, and securely, Fundserv has rightfully earned a reputation for service excellence—a hallmark of more than 25 years in the investment industry.
Company Profile
1983
YEAR FOUNDED
100
MANPOWER
43%
PROPORTION OF WOMEN AMONG FUNDSERV EMPLOYEES
60%
PROPORTION OF WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP
63,514,128
NUMBER OF ORDERS PROCESSED IN 2019
Years of Experience
25+
Tenure in current position
2016 - present
BAsed In
Toronto, Ont.
Fast Fact
While at the FSA, Croft led a campaign to make the regulator more accessible to those who needed to get in touch
Read on
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Insight Leaders
Overview
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Asia
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contact us
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Copyright © 2022 Key Media
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About us
Contact us
RSS
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AU
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