Investment Trusts  

Call for Treasury to announce changes to investment trust charges soon

Call for Treasury to announce changes to investment trust charges soon
The Treasury said legislation would come into force in 2024. (Reuters/Toby Melville)

Changes to investment trust costs cannot come soon enough, according to the Association of Investment Companies. 

The trade body said it wants to see the Treasury announce its decision on whether investment companies are to be treated as consumer composite investments sooner rather than later.

The AIC wants to see investment companies removed from the CCI regime. 

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Chief executive of the AIC, Richard Stone, said: “It’s clear that the issues around investment company cost disclosure are harming the industry and putting off existing and potential investors.

"The Treasury has the power to resolve these issues by removing investment companies from the scope of regulated cost disclosure – returning to the position that we had before January 2018 when EU-derived legislation such as Mifid II and Priips was introduced."

He added any delays to this decision was damaging market confidence. 

"Investors are receiving misleading information which may stop them buying shares which can deliver strong long-term performance," said Stone.

"The current rules are hamstringing demand for the investment company sector which is a global leader, with the capacity to mobilise capital for UK infrastructure, renewable energy and businesses.

"We call on the Treasury to announce its decision urgently so we can move to the next step in the process of resolving the issues with cost disclosure.”

The Treasury published a near final statutory instrument on the changes in November 2023, which it accepted comments on until January this year. 

In this it set out plans to replace existing regulations with a regulatory framework for CCIs, which treat open-ended funds and investment trusts the same way.

Here, the Treasury set out its intension to legislate in 2024, subject to parliamentary time allowing. 

tara.o'connor@ft.com

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