Salient to Investors:
From January 1, 2013, UK advisers will be banned from accepting commissions from asset managers and instead charge clearly delineated fees.
In 2009, the Review of Financial Studies said the cost of investing in British funds is higher than anywhere in the developed world aside from Scandinavia and Canada – and average 2.21 percent of annual expenses versus 1.04 percent in the US.
Gareth Shaw at Which? said the new rules separate all the elements that go into fees and banking commissions and so put power back into the hands of customers. Shaw said greater transparency will heighten interest in index funds. , he said. Morningstar said the average annual fee on UK active equity mutual funds is 1.68 percent of assets, versus 0.61 percent for equity index funds.
Vanguard’s assets managed for US advisers rose to $620 billion as of Sept. 30 from $260 billion at the end of 2007.
The Investment Management Association said mutual-fund sales by intermediaries such as financial advisers and wealth managers are six times greater than direct sales to consumers.
Read the full article at http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-11-16/vanguard-takes-aim-at-u-k-as-fees-replace-commissions.html