The FCA said this morning it could intervene in the asset management sector if a new probe, which began today, unearths ineffective competition.

A market study has been launched after research raised questions about competition along the asset management value chain.

The said in a statement: “If we conclude that competition is not working well, we may intervene to promote effective competition.

“Our interim report will set out those areas which we consider raise concerns and those in which we have found few or no problems."

The regulator aims to publish an interim report in summer 2016 a final report in early 2017. The regulator signalled it intended to carry out the review in March.

The FCA said in a statement: “The aim of the study will be to understand whether competition is working effectively to enable investors to get value for money when purchasing asset management services.

“Given the size of the market and the long-term nature of investments even a small improvement in the effectiveness of competition could be of substantial benefit for investors.”

The regulator has already been undertaking a wealth management review, looking into the suitability of client portfolios and assessing improvements in standards.

The FCA said it will “seek to understand” the following:

• how asset managers compete to deliver value

• whether asset managers are willing and able to control costs and quality along the value chain

• how investment consultants affect competition for institutional asset management

The FCA said: “Whilst these questions arose from the wholesale sector competition review, a number of these questions are equally relevant to retail investors.

“Across all three topics we are interested in understanding whether there are any barriers to innovation or technological advances which may be preventing new ways of doing business that could benefit investors.

“Throughout our study, we are keen to hear from all market participants about their experiences. We will host a number of roundtable and/or bilateral meetings with stakeholders. We will shortly also be approaching market participants to discuss the information and data necessary to enable us to assess the issues we have set out above.

“If you wish to make any submissions on the topics raised in the terms of reference, please send them to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by 18 December 2015.”