Ignites Europe: FCA rules out post-Woodford changes to ACD regime

The UK's financial regulator has appeared to rule out changes to its requirements for authorised corporate directors following the collapse of Neil Woodford's flagship fund.

The Financial Conduct Authority yesterday published the results of its investigation into Link Fund Solutions, the ACD that oversaw the Woodford Equity Income Fund that collapsed in June 2019.

Bev Shah, co-CEO of City Hive, says ACDs such as Link need to get to grips with investment managers' culture to ensure effective oversight.

"To fully discharge their duty of care, a clearer understanding of the culture at Woodford was needed by Link," she says.

Shah adds that ACDs and other entities should be mindful of culture under consumer duty even if the ACD regime is not changing.

"The FCA investigation should not just be about Woodford but also ensuring this does not happen again," she says.