The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has introduced new rules to ensure that fund managers act in the best interest of investors.
The new rules, which are expected to be rolled out over the next 12 to 18 months, mandate managers to assess their funds’ value against certain prescribed elements every year and be accountable on how they deliver value.
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For the assessment, managers will have to consider charges of the service and its quality.
The new rules require managers to appoint at least two independent directors to their boards.
At the same time, managers will have to improve the transparency on how they profit from investors and support the transition of investors into cheaper fund versions.
FCA executive director of strategy and competition Christopher Woolard said: “The investment choices open to people, and the decisions they make on how to invest, can have a profound impact on their financial health.
“They can also have consequences for their families, as well as society as a whole. That’s why it is important the asset management industry, which looks after the savings of millions of investors, is working as well as possible. But our market study found evidence of weak price competition in a number of areas.”
