UKSIF response: CP24/8 Extending the Sustainability Disclosure Requirements regime to portfolio management

We are pleased to respond to CP24/8 Extending the Sustainability Disclosure Requirements (SDR) regime to Portfolio Management.

UKSIF strongly welcomes the proposed extension of the FCA’s SDR regime to portfolio management services, including model portfolios and customised portfolios, which we hope will help promote a level-playing field with requirements under the SDR impacting asset managers and facilitate consistency across the investment market in the UK. We hope that the planned extension by the regulator will ensure that portfolio management firms are held to a similarly high standard as fund managers in regards to their products’ sustainability-related claims.

Broadly speaking, we are pleased to see similar rules proposed in the FCA’s consultation for portfolio management services and fund managers, which we hope will assist investors and financial advisers to compare different investment products in the marketplace.

We do have concerns over the proposed timings outlined in the consultation, which will mark a shorter implementation timeframe when compared with those requirements that asset managers have faced. Our concerns will be greater should there be delays from the FCA in finalising rules in the second half of this year, potentially leaving a very short window for portfolio management firms to comply with the SDR requirements.

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