AIC chairman: Trust providers must do more on pricing

Andrew Bell, chairman of the Association of Investment Companies (AIC), has warned many boards have not moved quickly enough to reduce charges on their investment trusts.

He said the widespread roll-out of clean share classes for open-ended vehicles has put more pressure on charges, but some boards have yet to properly address this issue for closed-ended funds.  “The proliferation of ‘clean’ share classes by unit trusts has certainly put downward pressure on the price of investment trusts, many of which have now become more expensive. More boards need to look at their charges and whether they can justify them,” Bell said. “Closed-ended funds can no longer sit back and use trail as an excuse. Open-ended fund charges are now more transparent and, in some...