MiFID II: Clients' research charges seven times higher than costs borne by asset managers

Does it equate to superior performance?

MiFID II rules regarding research costs - which force asset managers to choose whether to 'unbundle' research costs charged to clients or take the hit themselves - have seen fund charges for clients of asset managers in the former group reach up to 7.5 times that of those not charged for research.

Under MiFID II, which came into force in January, asset managers must set budgets for investment research, leading most UK firms to take the cost on themselves, via their own profit-loss...