The regulator's move follows concerns raised about the costs and charges disclosure for listed closed-ended funds under EU-inherited requirements, such as PRIIPs and MiFID II, which have made investment trust costs look artificially expensive.
In a statement published today (30 November), the FCA acknowledged concerns that cost disclosures under the EU laws "may not result in representative cost information being published".
This included the fact that some costs investment trusts are required to disclose are then aggregated into other products, including multi-asset vehicles and funds of funds that invest in them.
With consultation on new disclosure rules set to take place in the first half of 2024, the FCA has provided a short-term leeway, allowing investment trusts and the funds invested in them to provide clients with a breakdown of costs, rather than the current single all-in cost figure.
Investment trusts will now be able to provide additional context where they are concerned that the aggregate figure currently required by legislation "does not actually reflect ongoing costs". The regulator said this measure is "not intended as a long-term solution, but is a step towards wider reform".
For instance, investment trusts will be able to clearly specify which costs are related to corporate costs and investment costs, while funds will be able to explain how their own aggregate figures are affected by the trusts' costs. If firms decide to do this, the regulator will not take enforcement action.
That applies to the extent the firm "contravenes the restriction on adding further information to the UCITS KIID or the prescriptive requirements of the PRIIPs KID". This also extends to materials issued by MiFID firms that distribute PRIIPs or UCITS.
FCA under pressure to 'quickly' deliver solutions to investment trust cost disclosure issues
However, the regulator urged investment trusts and the funds invested in them to keep complying with other relevant regulations, especially to ensure the presentation of such additional information is in line with their Consumer Duty obligations.
The FCA added: "The aim of this forbearance statement is to give greater flexibility for costs to be explained, including putting aggregate costs in context - pending more substantive change which will be possible through legislation which will give the FCA power to change the rules more substantively."
Sarah Pritchard, executive director of markets and international at the FCA, said: "We have listened carefully to feedback and, while we do not have all the tools to fix the issue, we have put in place an interim change to support better transparency.
"Investment companies can now act to make changes to how they disclose costs and charges, and we look forward to implementing wider reform of the future disclosure framework as soon as legislation allows."
Bill to overhaul investment trust cost disclosure rules to be debated in parliament
The move came after Chancellor Jeremy Hunt told the Treasury Select Committee during a hearing yesterday (29 November) the government was pressing the FCA to develop short-term solutions to resolve the issues around cost disclosures faced by the investment trust sector.
He said: "We have made a lot of progress in terms of the draft regulations to replace the previous regulations that we inherited from the EU, accepting Rachel Kent's report on the MiFID regulations, and we want to work at pace with the FCA to resolve this.
"We do not want to see any unnecessary delays. I am optimistic that we will be able to resolve it quickly, even if I am not able to give you a timetable."
'Far from a full answer'
Richard Stone, chief executive of the Association of Companies, said the FCA's statement acknowledges that a single all-in cost figure "may not be the most useful to consumers", and that a breakdown of costs "could improve transparency and increase competition".
"We have long argued that bundling costs such as transaction costs, gearing costs and underlying fund costs together can create perverse incentives and does not help inform consumers' decisions," he said.
AIC sets out proposals to address investment trust cost disclosure concerns
Stone argued the regulator's interim step is "far from a full answer to the problems of cost disclosure", noting that consumers may benefit from a breakdown of costs but there is "much more to do before we can reverse the distortions caused by the current rules and give investors better disclosures".
"We will work with the FCA and the industry to use this new flexibility as fully as possible," he said. "This will include updating our guidance to members on cost disclosure."
"Meanwhile, we will continue to press for a fuller solution that does not disadvantage investment companies and allows them to compete fairly with other investments. Time is of the essence and the promised consultation on the new rules cannot come soon enough."