Forcing competition on platforms 'could drive up prices'

The Fundscape CEO (pictured) said she welcomed the regulator looking into vertical integration but warned an unintended consequence of the study may be increased prices for end-investors. The Investment Platforms Market Study, which was published this morning, said the platform market was becoming "increasingly vertically integrated" with commercial relationships existing between platforms, asset managers, discretionary investment managers and financial advisers. These relationships, it suggested, had the potential to distort competition by encouraging platforms to compete in the inte...