Wealth manager research reveals true cost of fund manager exits

The departure of star managers may have hidden costs for investors "stampeding" for the exit, a wealth manager has warned.

Heartwood’s head of product and manager research Alan Sippetts (pictured) has examined the small print of leading UK-based active fund managers, calculating the cost of moving from one fund to a substitute vehicle may cost as much as 2% of the investment. He estimated investors face a unit trust spread or OEIC dilution cost of 0.75% for large-cap UK equity funds, a 1.07% cost for a mid-cap fund and a 2.24% charge for a small-cap fund. Dilution levies have traditionally been imposed for investors trying to pull out a significant chunk of assets from a portfolio. In addition, Sippett...