#SFTW: Godfrey-gate special!

Posted by Robin Powell on October 9, 2015

SOMETHING FOR THE WEEKEND

Godfrey.

It will doubtless barely register on the Richter scale for most investors, but this has been a seismic week for the UK fund industry.

First, two of the country’s biggest asset managers, Schroders and M&G, announced they were leaving the Investment Association, the industry trade body. Then, apparently fearful that other firms would follow, the IA’s board voted to sack its chief executive Daniel Godfrey.

Throughout his three-year tenure, there have been growing concerns among members that Godfrey was too consumer-friendly on issues such as fee transparency. He recently introduced a “statement of principles” in which asset managers were asked to promise to put clients’ interests first; at the last count, only 25 out of more than 200 IA members had signed up.

For the full article click here

 

More on our top story..

Has your fund manager agreed to put your interests first? Find out here

Situation vacant: A Sir Humphrey for the fund industry

 

Meanwhile, in other news..

Hedge fund manager throws in the towel and embraces indexing

 

In case you missed it, last week was Dimensional Week!

DFA 1: The origins of an industry game-changer

DFA 2: The appliance of science

DFA 3: The godfather of modern finance

DFA 4: Painstaking attention to detail

DFA 5: Small changes make a big difference

 

Here are some reads I’ve enjoyed..

Beware the ulterior motives behind the latest indexing scare story (Larry Swedroe)

Time and again the figures show active managers can’t keep up (Tom Lydon)

List of worst performers dominated by brand-name UK equity funds (Eleanor Lawrie)

Active managers would produce better returns if they didn’t trade (Paul Myners)

Professional forecasters are probably no better at it than you are (Jason Zweig)

Passive investing is a rubbish brand. Let’s call it power investing (Rick Ferri)

Can’t decide on your fee structure? Start with what’s best for your clients (Angie Herbers)

 

And finally..

Forgive me if this seems a little parochial, but for the right company, or individuals, this could be an excellent opportunity.

My company Ember Television has undergone some exciting developments lately. They include the launch of this blog and of Regis Media, our new content marketing division for evidence-based advisers. We’ve also purchased a new studio in the office building in Birmingham where we’re based.

The upshot is that we have space to share in Studio 403, our penthouse office suite. We have five workstations available, and ideally we’re looking for people who share our goal of helping to change the investment industry for the better.

For more details click here

 

 

Robin Powell

Robin is a journalist and campaigner for positive change in global investing. He runs Regis Media, a niche provider of content marketing for financial advice firms with an evidence-based investment philosophy. He also works as a consultant to other disruptive firms in the investing sector.

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