The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has been reported to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) in an attempt to force the regulator to reveal what action it is taking against firms that are failing to comply with Mifid regulations.
The FCA has been reported by Alan Miller, the wealth manager and founder of SCM Private, and of the True and Fair Campaign, which campaigns for greater levels of fund fee disclosure.
The Mifid II rules require firms to disclose the total charges of investment products, both in percentage terms and in pounds and pence.
Mr Miller wrote to the FCA to request details of how many firms the regulator has written to in relation to a possible breach of the rules, as well as details of how many firms have self-reported to the FCA for breaching the rules.
He also requested information on potential breaches communicated to the enforcement referral team by FCA supervisors and how many firms have been considered at the FCA's enforcement referral meeting.
Finally, he requested information on the number of occasions the FCA has appointed investigators to deal with potential rule breaches.
He also wanted to see details of meetings and correspondences between the FCA and industry trade bodies or representatives about implementing the rules, which came into force on 3 January.
Mr Miller said the FCA did not respond to his request for this information, though he claims the regulator is required to disclose this.
The FCA said it has yet to respond because it needs to consider whether the request meets the requirement of being in the "public interest".
Mr Miller said he has been advised by lawyers that the FCA has exceeded the time limit it has in law to meet these requests.
If successful, the ICO can force the FCA to release its data and recommend changes at the regulator.
As FTAdviser has previously reported, Mr Miller threatened to take the regulator to a judicial review if it does not disclose the information.
He said research he had conducted, which he shared with the FCA, showed 100 per cent of online wealth managers, 70 per cent of DIY investing platforms and 78 per cent of traditional wealth managers were not disclosing the information as required by law.
Chief executive Andrew Bailey had told the Treasury select committee in June the regulator would start to take action soon.
He said the FCA had taken a backstep in the six months after Mifid was introduced to balance implementation of the new rules with ensuring markets function well, but was about to change this approach.
The FCA declined to comment.
david.thorpe@ft.com
