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FCA issues first statement of objection to asset managers

FCA has issued a statement of objections to 4 asset managers who it believes may have acted in breach of competition law. The statement (which has not been published) is the first time FCA has brought a case using its competition enforcement powers. It says that Artemis Investment Management LLP, Hargreave Hale Ltd, Newton Investment Management Limited and River & Mercantile Asset Management LLP shared information by disclosing the price they intended to pay, or accepting the information in relation to certain IPOs and one placing. The sharing allowed firms to know the other’s plans at a time when they should have been competing.

The findings are at the moment provisional so an infringement decision may not necessarily result. The firms may now respond before FCA makes a final determination.

Emma Radmore