The Financial Conduct Authority has raised concerns about how asset managers are focussing on service for intermediaries rather than the end consumer.
Speaking at the Tax Incentivised Savings Association’s annual conference yesterday (12 November), Jasper Berens, head of UK funds business at JPMorgan Asset Management, said the City watchdog is aware that most fund managers are now completely intermediated.
As a result, he said fund manager’s service capability is built around the intermediary and not the end consumer.
Mr Berens said: “I think the regulator, rightly, is pushing really hard to make sure fund managers understand the end consumer much more particularly [in regards to] product creation
“Let us have the same debate around the delivery of service as there has been about cost.”
Also speaking at the event, Gina Miller, founder of SCM Group, revealed the issue of confusion surrounding cost of funds is soon set to be decided by the European Union.
She said the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) II rules require all costs to be aggregated and the industry will find out in December how that goal is interpreted into regulation, which will be in force in 15 months time.
emma.hughes@ft.com
