Good morning and welcome to your Morning Briefing for Monday 31 July 2023. To get this in your inbox every morning click here.
Illiquid pensions
The Mansion House reforms certainly got pensions some headlines and I am still digesting what they mean.
Andy Bell has written an eloquent summary about the aim of the policies and their potential shortcomings.
“Generally in life, it is better to under promise and over deliver. By giving such definitive and bold predictions, the chancellor has left himself at the mercy of the markets and all the uncertainty that goes with them.
“As this batch of reforms move from consultation to reality, it is vital the structures that exist in the UK to protect savers, including regulators and trustees, remain entirely focused on the needs of savers, rather than the political goals of the party in power.”
These are wise words.
It’s here!
The Consumer Duty has arrived after months of speculation. Many see it as the most important piece of legislation since the Retail Distribution Review banned commission more than a decade ago.
That fundamentally changed the business model of advisers alongside their relationship with product distributors.
The Financial Conduct Authority’s new Consumer Duty significantly raises the bar of what it expects from regulated firms
We take a look at the industry reaction so far.
Quote Of The Day
We believe today’s decision, and December 2022’s policy tweak, is the start of a long road to normalising monetary policy in Japan having finally defeated deflationary forces.
– Gerard Cawley, head of Polar Capital’s Japan Team, comments on conclusion of Bank of Japan’s July monetary policy meeting
Stat Attack
Here are the top 10 places in the world to do forex trading
| Rank | Country |
Net-gross turnover of OTC foreign exchange instruments (2022, $ billions) |
Broadband speed (Mbps) |
Market overlap score /10 |
Cost of living rank (lower COL is ranked higher) | Forex suitability score /10 |
| 1. | Singapore | 929 | 233.45 | 9.02 | 7 | 8.07 |
| 2. | China | 153 | 156.00 | 9.02 | 83 | 7.97 |
| 3. | Japan | 433 | 157.71 | 8.63 | 29 | 7.64 |
| 4. | Hong Kong | 694 | 145.32 | 9.02 | 12 | 7.27 |
| 5. | South Korea | 68 | 192.32 | 8.63 | 19 | 7.24 |
| 6. | Thailand | 15 | 206.02 | 8.24 | 79 | 7.12 |
| 7. | Spain | 39 | 170.36 | 7.65 | 53 | 7.03 |
| 8. | United Kingdom | 3,755 | 93.52 | 7.65 | 33 | 6.69 |
| 9. | France | 214 | 186.88 | 4.51 | 21 | 6.45 |
| 10. | Switzerland | 350 | 193.86 | 4.51 | 2 | 6.28 |
Source: City Index
In Other News
Over the weekend Interactive Investor announced it is cutting trading fees by a third across all service plans from 1 September.
It will introduce a trading fee of £3.99 for funds, ETFs, investment trusts and UK/US trades.
II has also increased the Investor subscription plan by £2 per month from £9.99 to £11.99.
The subscription fees on all II’s other price plans, including its £12.99 per month Pension Builder plan and £4.99 Investor Essentials price plan, are unchanged.
Richard Wilson, chief executive, Interactive Investor, said: “These adjustments reflect our relentless drive to innovate and bring unrivalled value, choice and the best customer experience to the UK. It means our great value platform is now accessible to even more investors.”
Quilter Investors, the multi-asset investment business of Quilter, has made has two hires for its responsible investment team.
Jonathan De Pasquallie has joined as a responsible investment analyst from KPMG in the Crown Dependencies.
There he provided investors with environmental, social and governance (ESG) due diligence as well as assisting them with approaches to climate risk and decarbonisation strategies.
At Quilter Investors, De Pasquallie will support enhancements being made to ESG integration and reporting, and help lead active ownership activities.
Chris Wu has joined the business as a responsible investment quantitative analyst.
Wu was most recently a research officer at the London School of Economics and has a decade of experience in applied data science.
With a PhD in Urban Studies, Wu will help the business use data and technology in its responsible investment decision making and conduct detailed research within the sector.
The responsible investment team at Quilter Investors is part of the extended manager research hub the business launched at the end of last year to enhance its fund manager research capabilities.
The hub is formed of three teams: manager selection; operational due diligence; and the responsible investment team.
From Elsewhere
BOJ flags broadening price, wage hikes in wake of policy tweak (Reuters)
ECB needs more ‘critical mindset’ on banks, says Bundesbank deputy (Financial Times)
Rishi Sunak to use Scottish trip to attack Labour stance on North Sea oil (The Guardian)
Did You See?
In his latest Weekend Essay, Momodou Musa Touray discusses the FCA’s plans to clamp down on “finfluencers,” who promote financial products without risk warnings.
The regulator will update social media marketing guidance after a consultation to address the influence of platforms like TikTok and Threads.
While some believe education could be more effective, others welcome the FCA’s efforts to protect consumers from high-risk schemes and scams.
Qualified professionals, including Touray, advocate for responsible financial guidance from influencers who have the eyes and ears of future clients.
