Our Regulator, The Financial Conduct Authority, has recently introduced ‘The Consumer Duty’. This is a new set of Rules introducing a more outcome-focused approach to consumer protection. The objective is to implement higher expectations for the standard of care that firms give their customers. This comes into effect from 31 July this year and will be available to read on our website.

‘Outcomes’ can be improved in a number of ways. For us, our focus as a ‘discount broker’ has always been to minimise costs for investors wanting to make their own decisions. Although we have no control over how an investment will perform, we do know that lower charges equate to better returns.

To ensure you are receiving the best value from us on your ISA investments, we have conducted a review of the charges currently levied on our clients direct ISA holdings through our agency. If applicable, we will shortly be writing to you giving details on how to reduce charges on the existing funds you hold. We’ve found that in many instances (but not all), holding your investments via a platform, like Fidelity FundsNetwork, rather than directly with a fund manager can lead to significant savings and therefore better outcomes for you.

If you would like to discuss this further please feel free to contact us. We will be happy to see if this applies to you and take you through the process required to start making significant savings.

A full copy is available on the FSA website should you require one. https://www.fca.org.uk/publication/policy/ps22-9.pdf