MP and economic secretary to the treasury Bim Afolami (pictured) has said the government is considering streamlining the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) regulation.
In a recorded address to the Association of Investment Companies (AIC) conference in London, he said the Treasury is planning to consult on the issue in the next quarter.
“Secondly, we are looking at cost disclosure. We are committed to removing PRIIPs and replacing them with something better. We hope to set out further details very soon,” Afolami said.
Meanwhile, AIC chief executive Richard Stone said the association is “deeply disappointed” over the wait for action from the Treasury on cost disclosure reform. Stone added the issue “remains our top priority”.
Under the AIFMD, investment companies are required to disclose costs in the same way that unit trusts are.
Earlier this month, Baroness Bowles, Baroness Altmann, MP John Baron and Lord Davies of Brixton penned a letter alongside 114 co-signatories from across the asset management industry calling for investment trusts to be removed from AIFMD, saying that for the past two years the UK’s investment trust sector has been “spiralling into a deepening crisis”.
