PLSA comments on Competition and Markets Authority report

The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) has today (Wednesday) commented on the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) Investment Consultants Market Investigation Final Report.

Caroline Escott, Policy Lead Investment and Stewardship, PLSA, said:

“We welcome many of the CMA’s remedies in its final decision report.  We believe it is good practice for schemes to assess fiduciary managers before choosing one – especially as a fiduciary management arrangement can be difficult to unwind – and are pleased to see the CMA’s remedies in this area. We are also pleased that the CMA has recognised that a well-run and competitive closed tender process may achieve similar outcomes to an open process, but with a lower cost to schemes.

"One of our members’ concerns has been the potential for misalignment of interests between consultants and their pension scheme clients, so ensuring investment consultants have a clear separation between their investment advice and marketing of their fiduciary management services should be a helpful step in addressing potential conflicts. 

"We believe the CMA’s findings highlight the continued need to drive up standards of governance across schemes. We think this is best addressed by ensuring schemes are well-resourced and benefit from effective executive support, as well as a regulatory approach which more clearly focuses not just on processes but also on people.”

To read more on our views on good governance click here.  

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