UK timing matters

Late trading scandals in the US have encouraged the FSA to investigate unit trust sales made in the UK through fund supermarkets and offshore life offices

"When Wall Street sneezes the rest of the world catches a cold" goes the saying, which is of little comfort to the UK when events take a turn for the worse in the US. With US regulatory authorities, the press, and not least New York State attorney general Eliot Spitzer, focusing their attention on late trading and market timing in mutual funds UK investors are wondering what is going to be uncovered in their own market. So is the country likely to catch a worse version of what is doing the rounds in the US or is the UK industry immune to a peculiarly American disease? The first point t...