Investors want complete transparency over fees

Investigations by the True and Fair Campaign found that 92 per cent of investors nationally wanted companies to be legally obliged to provide information about their charges, with 89 per cent of those in Yorkshire and the Humber agreeing.

Almost three quarters of investors said they wanted costs and fees disclosed as a single, cash figure, while more than 80 per cent said it was important to understand the fees they paid for investment or pension products. However, 58 per cent said they did not know the costs of their current products, including fees.

Gina Miller, founder of the True and Fair Campaign, said: “A year ago, just after we launched the True and Fair Campaign, the former head of the industry trade body, the Investment Management Association, Richard Saunders, described the industry’s hidden charges as ‘a myth’.

“One year on the results of this survey prove that savers do not agree with this analysis and feel that statutory disclosure of costs and fees is the only solution to end the scandal of hidden charges.

“It is completely indefensible that two thirds of people buying investment products do not know how much they are paying in fees and charges. But what is worse is the fact that while we call for transparency and 100 per cent disclosure, the industry continues to hide under a thin rhetorical veil promising more disclosure, not full disclosure, and wraps itself in opaque, ill-defined guidelines.”