Rishi Sunak: Rather than changing policy, we need to change culture in order to encourage investment

In an interview with James Mackreides for our new podcast, BFIA Talks, the former prime minister of the United Kingdom discusses how The Richmond Project can help improve financial literacy and stimulate the economy

Former prime minister Rishi Sunak tells BFIA, "We need a cultural change, not a policy change to get people to invest more."

In the first episode of BFIA Talks, a brand-new podcast that can be listened to on all platforms and on YouTube, James Mackreides discusses with the former prime minister of the United Kingdom the importance of understanding mathematics in order to become more adept with money.

"There is a lot of emphasis on different policies in government, but I've realized that while the government can alter regulations, tax breaks, and other policies, it doesn't really make a difference; instead, cultural change is what is needed. A "

He emphasized that everyone, regardless of age, has the capacity to be strong with numbers and suggested that people were more likely to begin investing if they had greater confidence with numbers.

According to reports, current chancellor Rachel Reeves is considering lowering the tax-free incentive for cash ISAs in an attempt to encourage more people to invest in stock and share ISAs. Sunak, who served as chancellor from 2020 to 2022, believes that more education is required to encourage people to start investing and use stocks and shares ISAs, even though nothing is confirmed and is unlikely to be until the Autumn Budget.

One of the world's leading authorities on financial education is Lusardi, a professor at Stanford. Additionally, she discovered nearly two decades ago that there are three fundamental questions you can ask people to gauge their level of financial literacy.

"Compound interest is one of them, inflation and its effects are the second, and risk and diversification are the third," Sunak tells BFIA.

The Richmond Project.

Sunak is now working to increase everyone's confidence in numbers because he thinks it will help remove obstacles to financial literacy and stimulate the economy.

The Richmond Project, a nonprofit organization founded earlier this year by Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty, aims to improve numeracy abilities and make everyone feel at ease with numbers so they can use them in daily life.

He claims that anyone can be a numbers person. "We wish to remove those obstacles."

Although financial education will now be included in the curriculum as part of citizenship classes starting in September 2028, Sunak contends that having strong math and numeracy skills is the first step towards making better decisions about investing, budgeting, and mortgage selection.

Watch Rishi Sunak BFIA Talks on YouTube.

Financial advice and artificial intelligence.

Sunak was hired as a consultant by AI startup Anthropic and tech behemoth Microsoft last month.

In response to a question about whether AI could improve numeracy skills and assist people with their finances, Sunak stated that he believed AI could play a significant role in increasing access to financial advice. However, he emphasized that mastering numeracy is crucial if you lack the confidence to understand financial concepts and realize that what you are being advised on is correct.

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