Regulation
AoV on tour?
While non-UK products are not currently obligated to produce an assessment of value. Ignites Europe reports that the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has been informing asset managers looking to sell EU Ucits funds in the UK, that they should commit to producing value assessments within the next 12 months.
Misconduct matters
The FCA and Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) have launched consultation papers aiming to reform the approach to non-financial misconduct. Among a myriad of press articles, read Investment Week’s view here. The source documents are the FCA press release and its consultation paper, and the PRA consultation paper. Responses are requested by Monday 18 December 2023.
Private pricing
The FCA is preparing to review the “disciplines and governance” of valuations in private markets. This follows the major review of asset managers’ liquidity in the aftermath of last year’s UK bond market turmoil, the Financial Times (FT) reports.
Responsible Investment/ESG
Missing spirit
As regulatory efforts to tackle greenwashing intensify, Patricia Dunne, director of securities and markets supervision at the Central Bank of Ireland (CBI), says it has found “interpretations of SFDR, which, while there may be an argument that they comply with ‘the letter’ of the requirements, certainly do not meet the spirit of the rules”. More details in Ignites Europe and the full speech is here.
ESG epithet
And across the pond, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has adopted amendments to the Investment Company Act “Names Rule.” This will see the rules applying to a much broader range of fund names, including those focused on “environmental, social and governance” investing.
Impact impaired
Quilter has dropped a £417.9m ‘positive impact’ fund from its WealthSelect model portfolio service (MPS) following an investigation into a suspected breach of its ESG investment policies. Investment Week has the details.
Responsible rigour
Financial News carries an insightful interview with Aviva Investors’ chief responsible investment officer, and previous UN policy adviser, Steve Waygood.
Market News
Valuation overview The Schroder British Opportunities trust has formed a new committee to “review, and where necessary challenge, the valuations carried out by the specialist in-house valuations team at Schroders”. With a focus on private equity, IPOs and institutional asset management, the committee will be chaired by director Tim Jenkinson. Investment Week reports. And for additional information on valuation oversight the MFDF white paper on the topic is worth a read. Consumer confidence Fidelity International chief executive Anne Richards speaks to Citywire – including her views on consumer duty.
Several of the news outlet cited in this blog require registration or subscription. Also, FBC takes no responsibility for the accuracy or quality of the news in the links provided above, and nor are the views and comments representative of FBC or its members, unless expressly stated. Content stored on the FBC portal is freely accessible for FBC members.
