Groups delay showing hand on costs amid concerns over 'Wild West' lack of consistency

Lack of regulatory clarification

Asset managers are under greater pressure than ever before to improve fund charging disclosure and demonstrate progress in this area. However, a number of providers have told Investment Week they need further regulatory clarification (including on research costs) as well as a unified approach across the sector, before they can finalise their propositions.

The recent high-profile decision by Woodford Investment Management to stop passing on research costs to end investors and disclose all fund costs on its website, as well as the release of the latest proposals to separate research and trading costs under MiFID II have thrown down the gauntlet to providers to reveal their hand on charging. There is clearly work to do as the latest research from AJ Bell, based on Morningstar data, shows 66% of 4,773 actively-managed funds available through its platform do not currently disclose a total expense ratio, 3% higher than in 2015, while 4% do ...