FSA proposes firm body on softing

The proposal is included in consultation paper CP 05/13 Bundled Brokerage and Soft Commission Arrangements for Retail Investment Funds, which follows on from previous consultation on the issue of ‘softing’ affecting institutional clients. Applying new rules in the retail fund market are necessary to ensure “fairness and accountability for investors”, the FSA states, while also ensuring any expenditure by investment managers charged to clients’ portfolios represents value for money. ”For this to happen, there must be competitive pressure on the manager, which will come through widesprea...