FT: 'Dutch RDR' pressuring funds to scrap commissions

14 January 2013

Dutch banks are putting pressure on asset managers to review their fund ranges, in light of a self-imposed ban on inducements that will debut in January 2014.

Current Markets in Financial Instruments Directive rules do not allow Member States much room for manoeuvre regarding rebates, but the country’s Authority on the Financial Markets announced in 2011 it would enforce a “self-regulatory” ban on commissions upon the Dutch banks.

A ban on commission payments made by non-MiFID products was introduced in the Netherlands on January 1, covering products such as mortgage loans, payment protection insurance and life insurance.

Hein Kuijpers, head of intermediary for the Netherlands at Schroders, says: “The big banks are only selecting commission-free share classes at the moment and it will be very difficult to do business if you do not have them at the start of 2014. All the asset managers are launching these share classes now. It will have huge operational issues for banks.”

Banks in the Netherlands account for over 95 per cent of fund distribution, which means “these movements will have great impact on the Dutch market”, adds Janssen Daalen, director general of the Dutch Fund and Asset Management Association.

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