Peter Ainsworth is a leading authority in devising financial solutions that enhance accessibility and affordability in higher education. A Cambridge Economics graduate, he transitioned from a successful career in financial markets to focus on higher education funding. His seminal work began with a 1994 letter to The Economist, later evolving into the FAIR funding system at the behest of the Russell Group. He is the author of multiple influential papers, including the IEA’s ‘Universities Challenged: The Free-Market Graduate Tax’ (2014) and ‘Setting Universities Free: How to Deliver a Sustainable Student Funding System’ (2022). Peter has been a guest on the Today programme and won the 2019 Richard Koch prize for the best and boldest entry outlining what single policy would give everyone in society, whatever their background, a real opportunity to succeed on their own merit. Working with the University of Buckingham he managed the project to launch university issued student loans based on risk sharing principles to improve access to its courses, and is currently helping Xenophon College to launch a deferred payment scheme.

Peter Ainsworth is an open-minded and creative entrepreneur with vast experience in financial markets with expertise in financial economics, products and regulation. Following the sale of his business he has focussed on promoting the use of financial risk sharing in the higher education sector. He has written a number of academic papers and articles and has appeared on the Today programme and presented at conferences and events. Working with the University of Buckingham he managed the project to launch university issued student loans based on risk sharing principles to improve access to its courses.

He founded Consulting AM (consulting and management, offering results oriented wisdom – “CAMROW”), as a vehicle for the provision of strategic and operational support. His entrepreneurial skills and expertise in finance, risk, regulation law, marketing, and product development enables him to help any business solve day to day or longer-term problems and develop and market new products and services.

Ainsworth also set up EM Applications (“EMA”), an innovative risk software company that applied a machine learning algorithm to advise on the risk characteristics of investment portfolios. He managed and grew the business and its sales pipeline, recruited and motivated quant developers, and successfully marketed EMA Risk Software to asset management institutions in the UK and internationally, including Standard Life, HSBC, ING, and Lombard Odier. A major learning event was managing the business through the global financial crisis when a number of EMA’s customers went out of business. Finally, he negotiated a successful sale of the business to Sapiat, a Japanese Fintech Group, in 2018

In addition to Peter Ainsworth’s expertise in finance and entrepreneurship, he exhibits several key traits that contribute to his success in various industries. He has a strong commitment to continuous learning, as evidenced by recently teaching himself to use the API of ChatGPT. He is open-minded, willing to explore new ideas and perspectives, which allows him to approach challenges creatively. Ainsworth’s practicality enables him to develop and implement effective solutions to complex problems. He is also highly sensitive to the needs and interests of all parties involved, demonstrating a strong sense of empathy and an ability to work collaboratively with others. These traits make him a highly effective consultant and problem-solver, able to offer results-oriented wisdom to clients in both the for-profit and not-for-profit sectors.