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Fund Behemoth Backtracks On Billing Clients For Research

Josh O'Neill

26 February 2018

Fund giant , the UK investment manager, said Fidelity’s announcement was “welcome news” and “a clear admission” the firm had “got it wrong”. 

He said: “In this environment I do believe that firms such as Fidelity, which has long prided itself on the scale and strength of its own in-house platform and has therefore been much less reliant on external research, are in a relatively strong position.”

He added the move will “heap pressure” on firms deciding not to absorb costs to change their minds. 

Although initially there were concerns that MiFID II could push smaller players against the wall, the vast majority of European asset managers have chosen to front research bills themselves, with the exception of Carmignac and Deka, according to data compiled by the Financial Times.