‘Help is on hand for fund manager directive’
Financial institutions can rely on third-party help when it comes to meeting the Alternative Investment Fund Managers directive, Helvetic Fund Administration has claimed.
Nicola Smith, chief executive of the firm, raised concerns on the FSA’s discussion paper on the directive. She said it could lead to over-regulation and voiced fears on the lack of time for implementation.
She said: “Concerns do exist as to how institutions will meet the requirements of the directive and how registration by fund managers will be completed in the allotted time. However it is important to realise that help is there for institutions.
“Since the financial crisis of 2008, institutions have been keeping a greater eye on how funds manage their clients’ money and want assurances that their houses, from a reporting perspective, are kept in order. This has lead to an increase in the need of third-party fund administrators.”
Ms Smith added that 2012 was going to present a huge challenge for fund managers. Gathering and reporting large volumes of information, in order to become compliant with directives, would be a mammoth undertaking.
Alistair Cunningham, financial planning director for Surrey-based Wingate Financial Planning, has also voiced concerns on the directive.
He said: “The directive seeks to provide a level of regulation to a stratum of investment that is likely to be inappropriate for the vast majority of retail investors.”
