The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is unsure when it will be in a position to discuss the data it has received from Annex IV reporting obligations, according to a panellist at TSAM Europe in London.
The deadline for Annex IV reporting was at the end of January. William Amos, a director at the FCA, said the authority is working to find a way to process the data more efficiently using technology, and that it is uncertain when the data will be fully processed.
“That is what we are finding out now. There is a certain amount of cleaning of data.”
He added that once the FCA has processed and organised the submissions, “at that point we will be talking to the industry”.
Susan Wright of the Investment Association went on to question why investors receive “tons” of data on their investments, saying that much of this information may not be relevant to the clients, and that they may not even understand it. She said: “It just doesn’t feel right.”
Amos agreed, saying that client activity is likely to move online and onto mobile platforms, where generally simpler investment methods hand more power to the end users. He said: “It may be that there’s a movement in disclosure.”
Vincent Dessard, a senior policy advisor at the European Fund and Asset Management Association, added: “I strongly believe that we must educate.”
Wright agreed with this sentiment, arguing that even large investors should be conscious of what their funds are doing. She said: “For too long institutional investors have just invested, and now the regulators are saying, you need to know what you are investing in.”
