Funds

Recent Articles

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    12/07/2023

    Results of the Investment Research Review: what next for producers and consumers of investment research?

    On 9 March 2023, HM Treasury launched a call for evidence and an independent review of investment research and its contribution to the competitiveness of the UK’s capital markets (the “Investment Research Review”). The Investment Research Review forms part of the UK Government’s wider Edinburgh Reforms package and took place amid concerns that the UK has lower levels of investment research in comparison to other jurisdictions and especially in relation to key growth sectors such as tech and life sciences. On 10 July 2023, the outcome of the Review was published in the form...
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    06/07/2023

    Retail investors and pension schemes can now access Long-Term Asset Funds (LTAFs)

    On 29 June 2023, the FCA published a policy statement (PS23/7) setting out its final rules on broadening access to the Long-Term Asset Fund (LTAF). The new rules which recategorise a unit in a LTAF from a Non-Mass Market Investment (NMMI) to a Restricted Mass Market Investment (RMMI) came in to force on 3 July 2023 and will mean that mass market retail investors and defined contribution (“DC”) pension schemes can now invest in an LTAF. Affording greater investment in LTAFs should help to ensure product viability, although retail investment in LTAFs may be hampered not only by platforms’...
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    20/06/2023

    The Consumer Duty and outsourcing: remediation or not?

    The Consumer Duty (“Duty”) applies to all regulated firms that have a material influence over, or determine, retail customer outcomes. As firms approach the key 31 July 2023 milestone for their implementation work, focus turns to the potential impact on firms’ outsourced service arrangements for both day 1 and on operational controls on an ongoing basis.In-scope agreementsThe Duty will apply even where a firm does not have a direct contractual relationship with the retail customer. This may be where the firm has outsourced arrangements with:an unregulated service provider whose...
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    04/08/2022

    FCA final rules challenge financial promotions of high-risk investments

    What do the new rules say? The FCA has confirmed that it will implement the following changes (as stipulated in the January consultation) to the financial promotions rules (subject to any targeted changes set out below): Introduce the categories of Restricted Mass Market Investments (RMMI) and Non Mass Market Investments (NMMI) for financial promotions; Introduce stronger risk warnings for all RMMIs and NMMIs; Ban inducements to invest e.g., ‘refer a friend’ bonuses for RMMIs and NMMIs; Introduce personalised risk warning pop ups for first time investors in RMMIs and NMMIs; Introduce...
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    03/08/2022

    New FCA rules to open up marketing LTAFs to more investors

    What does the consultation say? The FCA has set out its proposals which would allow wider access to non-traditional and usually hard to reach investments resulting in portfolio diversification and potentially higher returns, while incorporating further investor protections. Key proposals include: Reclassifying the LTAF as a restricted mass market investment (“RMMI”) based on the rules set out by the FCA in PS22/10 on strengthening financial promotion rules for high-risk investments. As it stands, LTAF promotion is restricted to professional investors, certified and self-certified sophisticated...
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    11/07/2022

    FCA Response and Policy Statement on the use of side pockets for retail funds affected by the Russian invasion of Ukraine

    The Response In general terms, the FCA’s proposals met with general agreement and support from the respondents to the consultation. This means that the main proposals are to be implemented as follows: AFMs of UK UCITS and NURS (other than regulated money market schemes) will be allowed to create side pocket unit classes, to which investments affected by the war in Ukraine will be allocated. These will be valued purely by reference to the sanctioned and untradeable assets and not the remaining tradeable investments in the fund. Existing unitholders at the time the side pocket is created will...
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