As with the interim report last November, I was in the US when the final FCA report on competition in UK asset management came out. On Tuesday night, I set the alarm for very early, California time, so I could catch up on what the report said. In the event — sad, I know — the anticipation kept me awake, and I ended up reading it the moment it came out.
After all the frantic lobbying that’s been going on, I was quite expecting a much softer tone this time and, in the event, I was only mildly disappointed with the final version. I still think, on balance, that this is a watershed moment in UK investing.
Merryn Somerset Webb, on the other hand, who’s been writing about pitiful fund performance, extortionate fees and conflicts of interest in asset management for longer than I have, is furious.
In a brilliant piece for the FT, she mocks the regulator for giving in to seven months of “doubt-spreading” by the fund industry lobby:
“What do we want? Fund managers to, you know, think a bit about their customers a bit. That kind of thing. When do we want it? Soon. Well soonish. After a bit more consultation. Can’t ever have enough consultation.”
Not exactly a day of rage, is it?
Merryn makes a very fair point. As the BBC’s Paul Lewis reminded his Twitter followers yesterday, the FCA produced a report with very similar findings in 2000, and yet here we are, 17 years later, still having consultations.
Talking about it is all very well. But, in the meantime, thousands of Britons are retiring every week with too small a pension pot to last them for the rest of their lives. If less of the hard-earned returns had ended up in the pockets of City fund managers and other highly-paid intermediaries, they would be far better position.
So come on, FCA. We can all see what the problems are. Let’s get on and fix them.
FCA has put talk before action on fixing fund management
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.
