Julia Hoggett

CEO of London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG plc)

Claims

As speaker

Mentioned in

Key positions and views

Listing in the US is a high-risk strategy for UK companies, with data showing a high probability of significant value destruction and delisting.

The UK's capital markets are fundamentally strong, liquid, and globally competitive, ranking third in the world for capital raising, a fact often obscured by misleading narratives and data.

Historic UK pension reforms have been detrimental, causing a structural shift away from equities that has starved domestic growth companies of capital, a trend that must be reversed.

Proactive and tailored regulation, such as the FCA's fintech sandbox and the reversal of MiFID II, is a key competitive advantage for the UK in fostering innovation and market health.

The UK's stamp duty on share transactions is a self-imposed disadvantage that makes its markets less attractive for investment compared to international competitors.

Podcast consensus on Hoggett

Points of consensus

▶The UK's regulatory environment is being actively reformed to enhance competitiveness, as evidenced by the reversal of MiFID II research rules and the creation of the FCA's fintech sandbox.Mar 2026

▶A large, underutilized pool of domestic capital exists within the UK's fragmented pension system, which has historically been de-risked away from equities.Mar 2026

▶The narrative of the UK market's decline is overstated, with data showing it is the third-largest equity capital market globally and raises more capital than its top three European rivals combined.Mar 2026

▶The perception of US listings as a superior option for UK companies is challenged by data showing high rates of delisting and significant underperformance for the majority of those firms.

Points of debate

▶A significant tension exists between the UK's status as a top global capital market and the behavior of its domestic pension funds, which under-invest in UK growth assets like Arm.Mar 2026

▶There is a policy conflict where the UK government actively promotes its capital markets while simultaneously imposing a stamp duty that disadvantages UK-listed stocks against US and European competitors.Mar 2026

▶A disconnect is highlighted between the perceived liquidity of the London Stock Exchange, which is often underreported by common data platforms, and its actual higher turnover rate compared to US indices.Mar 2026

▶The UK's success in generating unicorn startups is at odds with the structural challenges in its pension system that limit the availability of domestic scale-up capital for these same companies.

Key themes

▶The UK vs. US Listing Debate

Hoggett directly confronts the narrative that US exchanges are superior for UK companies. She uses data on the poor post-IPO performance and high delisting rates of UK firms in the US to argue that London remains a more stable and ultimately successful venue for domestic companies.

This theme suggests a concerted effort by the LSE to counter capital flight by reframing the conversation around long-term value creation and survival, rather than just initial IPO valuation.

▶Unlocking UK Pension CapitalMar 2026

Hoggett identifies past pension reforms as a primary cause for the UK's shift away from risk assets, leading to underinvestment in domestic equities. She champions new initiatives like the Mansion House Compact as a critical mechanism to redirect this vast pool of capital back into UK private and public markets.

This focus indicates a belief that solving the UK's capital market challenges is less about attracting foreign investment and more about fixing the structural impediments to deploying its own domestic savings.

▶Challenging Perceptions of UK Market Competitiveness

Hoggett argues that the UK's capital markets are stronger and more liquid than commonly perceived. She cites its global ranking in capital raising, higher stock turnover rates than US markets, and misleading data on popular financial platforms to build a case for the market's underlying health.

Analysts and investors relying on surface-level data from standard terminals may be misjudging the liquidity and depth of the UK market, potentially overlooking opportunities based on a flawed narrative.

▶Regulation as a Competitive AdvantageMar 2026

Hoggett positions the UK's regulatory framework as a key enabler of financial innovation and market efficiency. She points to the FCA's fintech sandbox, which fostered companies like Revolut and Monzo, and the reversal of EU-era MiFID II rules as examples of proactive, pro-growth policymaking.

This perspective suggests that the UK's strategy for maintaining its status as a global financial hub relies on agile, bespoke regulation rather than simple deregulation.

Source episodes

Timeline

Last 10 years

Hoggett analyzes this period to demonstrate that of the 20 UK companies that raised over $100M and listed in the US, 9 have delisted and most are trading down over 80%.

Summer of 2020

Cites this as the moment the market capitalization of Apple first surpassed the entire FTSE 100 index, marking a significant symbolic shift in global market dynamics.

2023

Hoggett notes that the UK reversed former EU MiFID II rules on research unbundling and raised more equity capital than the next three largest European venues combined.

2024-2025

Identifies this period as when the UK stands as the world's third-largest equity capital market by total capital raised, trailing only the US and India.

By 2030

This is the target date for the Mansion House Compact, under which the UK's largest defined contribution pension schemes have committed to allocating 5% of their assets to private companies.

Suggested prompts

How does Julia Hoggett's critique of UK pension fund behavior reconcile with the fact that international investors constitute 60% of the UK stock market? &nearr;What are the potential second-order effects of reversing MiFID II's research unbundling rules on the coverage and valuation of UK small and mid-cap companies? &nearr;If the Mansion House Compact succeeds, which specific sectors of the UK economy are best positioned to absorb the new influx of private capital by 2030? &nearr;Beyond stamp duty, what other structural barriers might prevent the UK from fully capitalizing on the pension reforms and regulatory changes Hoggett advocates for? &nearr;

Key concepts

US Listings Performance 1 ep UK Pension Reform 1 ep Equity Capital Markets 1 ep MiFID II 1 ep Mansion House Compact 1 ep Market Liquidity 1 ep FCA Regulatory Sandbox 1 ep Stamp Duty 1 ep FTSE 100 1 ep Unicorn Startups 1 ep

Notable quotes

“Of those, nine have already delisted, only four are trading up and the rest are trading down by over 80%.”

Julia Hoggett · Julia Hoggett, CEO @ LSEG plc: The Myths and the Reality of The London Stock Exchange

“The FCA made a very, very overt decision in the teensies or whatever we call it to create a sandboxing environment for fintechs to be able to start out. The likes of the Revoluts, the Monzos, etc. started because the UK created the best possible regulatory environment for them to do so.”

Julia Hoggett · Julia Hoggett, CEO @ LSEG plc: The Myths and the Reality of The London Stock Exchange

“In the first period of time after they listed only 1% of the investor base in Arm, which is a great British company based in Cambridge, coming out of our ecosystem, was owned by UK investors. Not one of our major pension funds had them as one of their major investments.”

Julia Hoggett · Julia Hoggett, CEO @ LSEG plc: The Myths and the Reality of The London Stock Exchange

“The percentage of the company's free float that is turning over in a given day is higher on the FTSE 100 than it is on the S&P 500 or the Nasdaq.”

Julia Hoggett · Julia Hoggett, CEO @ LSEG plc: The Myths and the Reality of The London Stock Exchange

Report last updated: Apr 21, 2026

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