Fidelity joins calls for exit fee restrictions

Fidelity Personal Investing has called for a ban on exit fees from all long term savings products in order to improve competition in the direct-to-consumer marketplace.

The platform joins Charles Stanley Direct in hitting out against "anti-competitive" exit fees, after the latter committed to waiving its own exit fees of £10 per line of stock or fund holding for one year. Fidelity's analysis of its competitors shows Barclays commands the highest exit fee per fund when it comes to transferring funds from a Stocks and Shares ISA to another provider, at £30 per fund. Fidelity Worldwide Investment head of personal investing Mark Till said: "We would like to see an outright ban on these types of charges, as we believe they are creating meaningful barriers...