FCA creates 15-strong supervision team to scrutinise retail funds

The Financial Conduct Authority has created a dedicated fund supervision unit to regulate and monitor individual retail funds for the first time, in a bid to better safeguard investors and consumers.

Speaking at Investment Week's Fund Management Summit this week, FCA director of wholesale banking and investment management William Amos (pictured) said the regulator has taken a "new direction" following the creation of the division this summer. In a major shift in how it regulates the funds industry, the FCA said the 15-strong team will examine fund groups' products from ‘cradle to grave'. It will have the power to take enforcement action if necessary. It is led by Andrew Coulson, who left a similar role at the Central Bank of Ireland to join the FCA in Q1 this year. The FCA says...