A key objective of the RDR was to create an industry with more clarity for consumers around products and services.
However, according to our latest research, British investors do not feel better informed on fund costs than other Europeans:
- The proportion of British investors who think they know exactly or approximately how much they pay for the investments they hold, is topped in Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Spain, France and the Netherlands.
- Switzerland, Germany and Italy are also ahead of the UK in terms of the proportion of people who know exactly how much they pay.
Platforum European Consumer Insights, April 2018
Has the RDR failed on this objective? Or are continental investors deluded about their understanding of costs?
We may find out as MiFID II makes its mark. With higher levels of transparency and a requirement to show charges in euros and cents, continental investors may find that they knew less about what they were paying than they thought. However, little change can be expected until the first round of ex-post cost and charges is disclosed at the end of the year and beginning of 2019.
We also find continental platforms and asset managers attempting to influence how platform pricing will land in a post-MiFID II world. Unlike in the UK, trail commissions will coexist with platform fees for some time to come.
Those looking to predict and influence the shape of European investment distribution will benefit from attending Platforum ID – the Investment Distribution Conference on 4th July in London. Distribution heads can learn from their equivalents on both sides of the Channel at a time when politics and regulation are throwing commercial models up in the air.
To register for Platforum ID – the Investment Distribution Conference click here