Last week, Daniel Godfrey, former director-general of the Association of Investment Companies, was named as the new IMA chief executive.
Mr Saunders announced his departure in May but will remain in an advisory role for a successful handover.
He named two major themes that Mr Godfrey would need to work on following the annual conference of the International Investment Funds Association last month.
He said: "One major takeaway from the conference was just how universally the need to rebuild investor trust is seen as a key issue for the industry. A decade of poor stock market returns, combined with ageing populations across the globe, is sparking debate everywhere about how to foster long-term saving.

"The second major theme was just how global regulatory policymaking has become. Financial regulation was once a national concern, though over the last decade in Europe it has increasingly been determined at EU level. But one lasting legacy of the credit crisis has been a decisive shift in focus to global bodies such as the G20, the Financial Stability Board and the International Organisation of Securities Commissions."
He said these issues had already been raised by investors in the IMA's industry survey.
However, he said he hoped the move to global regulation would mean London would remain an attractive place to do business.
"The consequences will be that the competitiveness of international financial centres -like London- will be much more about their attractiveness as a place to do business than about the level and style of regulation. And that can only be good for London.
"Getting from here to there is likely to be painful and stressful, but the result will hopefully be worth it."