Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of capping (a) all charges, (b) custody charges and (c) transfer charges on (i) SIPPs and (ii) ISAs.

Government and regulators have undertaken a range of initiatives in relation to charges on investment products.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has conducted an extensive market study into the asset management sector, including the examination of costs and charges. They have introduced a range of remedies to address the issues they found. In particular, the FCA have strengthened and clarified the duty on managers of investment funds to act in the best interests of their investors. New rules will require asset managers to assess the value for money of each fund against a non-exhaustive list of prescribed elements, including whether charges are reasonable in relation to the costs incurred in delivering the service, and the quality of the service provided. The managers must conclude that each fund offers good VfM or take corrective action if it does not and explain the assessment annually in a report made available to the public.

The FCA also identified concerns that charges might not always be visible to investors and that investors might not pay sufficient attention to charges or understand what they represent. In response, the FCA introduced a single all-in fee to increase the visibility of all charges taken from the fund and impose more discipline on overspend relative to charging estimates.

The FCA has also considered the role of charges as part of its work on competition in non-workplace pensions, including self-invested pension plans (SIPPs). They found that charges in this market are often too complex for consumers to be able to compare and that similar customers can pay very different charges. The FCA concluded that it would not be appropriate to recommend direct price intervention such as a cap at this stage, but it is considering next steps in the context of its upcoming work on driving value for money across the pensions sector. The FCA’s Feedback Statement on this topic is seeking views on what remedies would be appropriate and will close in October 2019.

Early exit charges were banned or capped in personal pension schemes, including SIPPs, from March 2017. Information obtained by the FCA and the Pensions Regulator (TPR) showed that early exit charges presented a barrier to accessing the pension freedoms for a significant minority of people in personal and occupational pension schemes. Following consultation, the Government took steps to remove these barriers by capping early exit charges at 1% for existing scheme members and banning them for new members.

The charges imposed in respect of investments held within Stocks and Shares ISAs are a matter for individual ISA managers. ISA managers must allow investors to transfer existing Stocks and Shares ISAs to an alternative manager.