The Competition and Markets Authority is proposing a raft of reforms to the pensions investment consultancy and fiduciary management sector after identifying substantial concerns about lack of competition.

Any reforms may result in the FCA taking a more proactive role in this sector to ensure “greater oversight” of the sector.

The government body is particularly concerned about investment consultants who advise pension trustees on how to invest their funds and cases where pension schemes delegate investment decisions to fiduciary managers.

The CMA says these firms have influence over half of all UK households’ retirement savings and work with pension scheme assets worth at least £1.6 trillion.

It says these investment decisions are critical to ensuring pension savers get a decent income in retirement and in many cases the market is not working properly.

In September last year the CMA launched a market investigation into this sector, at the request of the FCA and today marks the CMA’s provisional decision.

The CMA says that while pension schemes can choose from a range of different firms, the CMA has identified “competition problems” within both the investment consultancy and – to a larger degree – the fiduciary management markets.

Its provisional findings include:

•Around half of pension schemes choose the same provider for fiduciary management that they use for investment consultancy. Their current investment consultant can steer them to do this. It says this means companies which offer both services have an advantage over other firms when it comes to getting this business from existing clients.

•A number of pension trustees have low levels of engagement with providers in the sector when choosing their first fiduciary manager. Only a third of trustees ask firms to compete for their business through a tender process, meaning no competitive pressure is put on their existing investment consultant or fiduciary manager to offer the best terms or highest performance.

•Pensions trustees often do not have sufficient information on the fees or quality of these services to be able to judge if they’re getting a good deal from their existing investment consultant or fiduciary manager, or if they could do better elsewhere.

As part of today’s report, the CMA has proposed a number of changes to these markets to deal with its concerns, including:

•Pension trustees selecting their first fiduciary manager must run a competitive tender. Trustees who have already appointed a fiduciary manager without doing this must also put the role out to tender within five years. This would increase competition in the market and reduce the competitive advantage held by the incumbent investment consultant when it comes to getting the new business, says the CMA.

•Fiduciary management firms must provide clearer information on fees and how they have performed for other clients, so that pension trustees have the information they need to make meaningful comparisons between different providers.

•The CMA is also making recommendations for new guidance from The Pensions Regulator, which would provide trustees with more advice on how to choose and scrutinise providers. It is also proposing that the government broadens the FCA’s regulatory scope, to ensure greater oversight of the industry.

John Wotton, chair of the CMA’s Investment Consultants Market Investigation, said: “We’re concerned that pension schemes are not currently putting pressure on the market to get the best value for money on behalf of their members. They may lack the information they need to compare competing offers and so could be sticking with their existing investment consultant or fiduciary manager when there are better options available.

“This is an extremely important sector that influences how well millions of people’s pension savings are invested, and it’s therefore vital we take steps to make sure that competition is working properly.

“That’s why we’re proposing a number of important reforms to the sector, including requiring pension trustees to run a competitive tender when they choose a fiduciary manager and ensuring that trustees have much better information about fees and investment performance.

The CMA is inviting feedback on the provisional decision report by 24 August.

Patrick McCoy, head of investments, XPS Pensions Group, said: ”The CMA has strong concerns over fiduciary management and how pension funds have been steered towards it.  The evidence of this is very significant and we see it every day, however much the fiduciary managers deny it publicly. Requiring a full tender at the initial appointment of the fiduciary manager is a step forward but is only really effective if independent advice is sort which is not part of the CMAs remedies. 

"It has also recommended that the government extend the FCA’s regulatory oversight to investment consultants and fiduciary managers.  This change in regulation needs to go far enough to curb the practice where currently investment consultants can give formal Section 36 Pensions Act advice on its own regulated investment products, which is ridiculous.  We believe the FCA should require pension schemes to obtain independent investment advice when purchasing a regulated investment or fiduciary management services."