NCI seeks to bolster UK's reputation in Asia Pacific with proposal for new fund structure

Fund brand would compete with UCITS and AIFs

New City Initiative (NCI) has called on the industry to develop a new UK-specific fund structure that could compete with UCITS and AIFs in Asia Pacific (APAC), as part of a plan to boost its standing in the region.

In its paper ‘Facilitating Connectivity: Strengthening UK-APAC Fund Ties', the asset management thinktank outlined several ways in which the UK funds industry could strengthen its distribution footprint in key APAC markets. NCI acknowledged that while the process of setting up a new fund structure "will not be easy", it is "certainly achievable", adding that it will require input from industry and government, which the NCI said it is "willing to facilitate in coalition with other associations and market participants". In the paper, NCI states: "A lot of the UK investment products that...