The Investment Association’s (IA) fintech hub and accelerator, IA Engine, has announced the latest cohort of firms it has added to its Innovator and Advanced Access Programmes.

Its 12-month Innovator Programme chooses fintech firms that will receive mentoring and support from the Engine Advisory Panel, alongside opportunities to present their solutions at industry events.

Five firms have been added to the Innovator Programme, including InTick, which is a marketplace for blocking listed derivative transactions, seeking to improve transparency and enhance best execution outcomes for investment managers and market participants.

Sibli, which aims to provide investors with insights from unstructured data using generative AI, was added to the programme. Its tools look to process data and connect it directly to portfolio managers’ financial forecasts, allowing it to track trends and quantify their impact on assets.

SaaS platform dedicated to sustainable finance WeeFin was the third firm included in the Innovator Programme. The platform enables financial institutions to build their ESG ‘golden source’, monitor the sustainable impact of their portfolios, and automatically generate regulatory and client reports to meet sustainability requirements.

IA Engine also added Level E Research, which has built an AI platform that fully automates the investment lifecycle through the merger of robotic process automation and AI, seeking to replace operationally inefficient and cost heavy processes with intelligent agent automation.

The final addition to the Innovator Platform was Pontoro, a digital asset platform that looks to give investors improved access to private market assets, market information, transparency and liquidity.

Meanwhile, the IA’s Advanced Access Programme is designed for larger and more established fintechs, with two firms being added to the three-month programme.

Droit, whose platform Adept provides institutions with solutions for pre-trade and post-trade controls, evaluating the permissibility of transactions, compliant regulatory reporting, and more, was added, alongside Ediphy, which aims to solve key problems around liquidity, trading workflow and data fragmentation in capital markets, with a focus on fixed income.

Through the programme, Droit and Ediphy will receive support and guidance from the Engine Advisory Panel and FinTech Growth Panel, as well as advice and support from IA experts and access to the IA knowledge centre.

“Innovation is at the heart of our industry’s growth mission,” stated IA director of Engine, Gillian Painter.

“Keeping pace with the latest technological advances is key to ensuring that the UK is able to deliver for customers and clients and continues to be a global hub for investment management.   

“Engine’s latest Innovator and Advanced Access Programme cohorts highlight the extensive value new technologies can bring to the investment management industry – whether that’s harnessing AI to drive operational efficiencies, automating data management to enhance regulatory compliance or broadening access to alternative asset classes.

“I look forward to working with these firms to accelerate their growth journey and develop innovative industry solutions.”

Science, Innovation and Technology Select Committee chair and MP for Newcastle upon Tyne Central & West, Chi Onwurah, added: “Initiatives such as the Engine Innovator and Advanced Access Programme offer a platform for emerging FinTechs to showcase their solutions to the industry and receive guidance from experienced professionals.

“Connecting smaller firms with the wider industry can help facilitate progress, creating opportunities for businesses, consumers, and the economy to benefit from new technologies.”

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