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Regulation

Duty Review

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) have released review findings on the implemention of Consumer Duty, here. This generally positive review of the way Consumer Duty is being embraced also highlights concerns that some implementations don’t look progressed enough to hit the deadline set for the end of July. 

Regime rules?

Asset managers selling new (post Brexit) EU-domiciled funds to UK investors, which should be covered by the UK’s Overseas Fund Regime, are being hit with a lengthy and expensive registration process due to the lack of clarity of how the regime works in practice, according to Ignites Europe here. 

Regulatory round-up

For a round-up of EU financial regulation for the year ahead Investment Officer’s article, here, looks ahead with Vincent Ingham, director of regulatory policy at the European Fund and Asset Management Association in Brussels at the Alternative Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD), Mifid 2, retail investors and ESG.

Sustainable Investment

(Not) Net-ting out 

MP Chris Skidmore‘s four-month review of the UK government’s course to the 2050 Net Zero target warned the government must double down on its decarbonisation efforts or risk the UK being left behind. BusinessGreen delves into the detail of the 340-page report here, and rounds up the reaction from green experts here.

Collaborating for good 

Initiatives such as Climate Action 100+ and Rathbones’ Votes Against Slavery engagement, among others, are stimulating asset managers to look for ways to work together to drive change among investee companies. Ignites Europe, here, investigates an ever-present question of how this type of collaboration sits with competition law.

Falling short

The ‘level 2’ update of the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) caused a bit of a flurry as asset managers downgraded ETFs from Article 9 to Article 8, ahead of the 1 January deadline. Reported on in ETF Stream here. And in less voluntary environmental downgrading, the FTSE Russell removed 34 groups from its FTSE4Good All-World benchmark after deciding they failed to meet its newly introduced climate change score. Find out who didn’t make the cut in the Financial Times (FT) here. 

Industry News

Costs crunch

The fifth annual report on the costs and performance of EU retail investment products from the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), has found ‘the costs of investing in the most important retail financial products continued to decline, albeit at a very slow pace’. Read the declining stats, and the rest, in the report here, the short version in the ESMA press release here and the round up in Ignites Europe here. 

Development drive

A new career programme aimed at developing female portfolio managers, the Pathway Programme, is being launched by UK campaign group, The Diversity Project. The initiative is spearheaded by Baroness Helena Morrissey and supported by 34 member firms including asset managers such as Amundi, BlackRock, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Capital Group, Fidelity International, Invesco, Schroders and Legal & General Investment Management. Read how this could fuel new opportunities for a talented bunch in Ignites Europe here.

Deep data

The platform sector, and specifically data integration, comes under review in this Money Marketing article, here. Brings to the fore how long platforms will continue to focus on their primary ‘data problem’ and not, by implication, on better client/user data that can be passed up the chain to AFMs seeking to better evidence good consumer outcomes?

Greenwashing laid bare

The lows (and a few tentative highs) of being a whistle-blower. Forbes here, interviews Desiree Fixler, the DWS whistle-blower who shone a light on an asset manager greenwashing.