Action needed on soft-closures to avoid more industry 'damage'

FCA to explore flexibilities

Fund groups have suggested a raft of changes to ease the process of soft-closing funds, including improved systems on platforms and alterations to treating customers fairly principles.

In a recent paper, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said providers and trade associations had asked the regulator to explore greater flexibilities on restricting access to popular funds It was noted by the FCA and heads of fund groups that soft-closure is a "useful tool" to ensure performance is not hampered, but a lack of clarity on the best methods is causing problems. Referring to the ‘soft-closure' process, the regulator said there is "no established definition and it can refer to a range of practices". These include increasing initial charges, or ceasing to market popular pr...