Moody's warns FCA study will be negative for active managers

Fee pressure and increasing costs

Moody's Investor Service has warned rule changes proposed in the Financial Conduct Authority's (FCA) occasional paper published last Thursday on the £8.1trn asset management industry will be negative for active managers.

In a research note, Tiziano Oliva, associate analyst at Moody's, claimed the suggested changes on presenting charges information to investors could increase active managers' compliance costs while reducing fees, which could lead to a reduction in profit margins and an acceleration in the shift towards passive products. Although the new rules would increase transparency, Oliva said asset managers would be forced to "overhaul" cost structures and product line-up or merge in order to "to offset the pressure on revenue and generate economies of scale". "The additional rules on delivering ...