Fidelity Worldwide Investments has not signed the Investment Association’s new Statement of Principles as it feels its business is too diverse and signing would be“unjustified”.
A spokesperson from Fidelity Worldwide Investments told Investment Adviser, “The Principles embody a range of principles and practices which Fidelity takes very seriously.
“However, Fidelity is not just an asset manager, but also a pension provider and manages a large platform. The clients’ needs differ and cannot be covered by a single statement.”
Yesterday, the IA unveiled a 10-point Statement of Principles to help firms put client’s interests first. Initially 25 asset managers, representing £1.8trn of assets under management, have signed the statement.
These firms are required to publish a statement on their websites explaining how they put clients interests at the centre of their firms and how they will identify and cope with any issues that could go against their ability to uphold these principles.
However, some of the bigger asset managers are missing from the list, including Fidelity, Invesco Perpetual, Schroders and M&G.
Fidelity, and another large asset manager that did not wish to be named, believe the principle’s message is already clear from their current communication practices and a further overlay would not be justified.
Daniel Godfrey, chief executive of the Investment Association, said: “There is nothing that should be inappropriate in the statement. The idea of these principles was just an expression of excellence. We never saw this as something extra the firms had to do.
“We say firms should always put clients interests first and put in this way we think clients can trust them.”
Several of the other asset managers not on the list, including Allianz Global Investors, Artemis Fund Managers, Aviva Investors, Barings Asset Management, Columbia Threadneedle Investments and First State Investments said they support the ambition of the IA and are reviewing the initiative.
Mr Godfrey said: “We are aware there are members on a glide path to signing this, but their governance and timing schedules did not fit to our August 1 release.
“We are confident that there will be a constant stream of members coming through in the next six months to a year.”
