The founder of the True and Fair campaign said a merged body would have “a louder lobbying voice and deeper pockets”, but she added: “This merger smells like it has been born out of desperation.
“The public and regulatory mood is changing towards greater transparency, total cost disclosure and the eradication of practices that have allowed IMA and ABI members to pickpocket savers and investors.”
According to Ms Miller, the merger “should be seen as the industry marshalling its forces to protect its own back at the expense of UK savers and investors”.
She added, however, that neither body had shown that its voluntary codes or rhetoric on transparency and consumer protection had “translated into practical actions that improve consumer protection”.
Daniel Godfrey, chief executive of the IMA and the man tasked with heading the new organisation, said the merger was good for customers.
He said: “Anything we do, we test against our purpose, which is to help members do important work for real people and the economy.
“This merger will be aligned to that. We are passionate about a culture of long-term investment thinking between asset owners, asset managers and corporates because this will deliver better long-term substantial returns for our clients, beneficiaries and to the economy.”
The merger will bring the ABI’s investment affairs division into the IMA, creating an operation that covers every aspect of the investment process and environment.
In a joint statement, the organisations said final discussions over the merger were ongoing. The statement said the talks would result in “the creation of an organisation, with a new name and a new chairman, that covers the full spectrum of investment management activity with a single, stronger and more coherent voice”.
The ABI will continue to represent insurers as asset owners.
Adviser view
Stephen Womack, a consultant at Northamptonshire-based David Williams IFA Chartered Financial Planners, said the merger was unlikely to make a difference to advisers. He said: “In the long term, the move might give them a clearer and coherent voice. It would be interesting to see if the National Association of Pension Funds joins and what its role would be as one of the big institutional asset managers.”
