Fees for active management down 15% since 2017 'putting pressure on passives'

Average annual cost of equity fund now 0.85%, finds FundCalibre

Actively managed equity fund fees have fallen by more than 15% over the past four years to an average of 0.95%, as the UK fund industry reacted to the “passive threat” by lowering charges, according to FundCalibre.

Its analysis, based on FE fundinfo data on ongoing charges figures (OCFs) in January 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021, found that the average annual charge for active equity is down from 1.13% to 0.95%, while the average annual cost of a newly-launched equity fund is now 0.85%. "We're really pleased to see that the UK fund industry has reacted to the passive threat by cutting fees. The annual costs for investors are now substantially lower than they were even four years ago," Darius McDermott, managing director of FundCalibre, said. M&G instigates fee cuts across 75% of UK OEIC AUM ...