How we assess and monitor assets on our platform
At Fidelity we put our customers at the heart of everything we do, ensuring the delivery of good customer outcomes. Market events which may result in investors’ inability to withdraw money, bring focus on the role investment platforms play in safeguarding the interests of their customers.
Our Responsibility to you
As a distributor of investments, we offer Fidelity and third-party investments to our customers across the following platforms: Workplace Investing (for workplace pension customers), Fidelity Adviser Solutions (for advisers) and Fidelity Personal Investing (for personal investors).
Our goal is to provide customers with a wide range of choice when investing with Fidelity. Like all firms, we have obligations, that we fully embrace, to be careful and responsible about the investments we make available to you. Whilst we can’t eliminate the risk that naturally comes with investing, we do take measures to ensure the investments we offer meet certain minimum criteria and standards.
Our Governance Committee
We achieve this through an asset range governance committee which enables us to monitor and oversee the investments (Investment Funds, ETFs and Investment Trusts) offered on our platforms. This is to ensure our customers are protected from any foreseeable risks arising from the distribution and administration of these investments.
It meets regularly to ensure the range of assets offered is appropriate for distribution within the relevant business channels that it represents (Workplace investing, Adviser Solutions and Personal Investing).
We have a governance framework in place which seeks to consider various factors when carrying out checks on the investment providers we offer on the platform, as well as checks on the collective investments (such as funds) we enable our customers to invest in.
Factors Considered for Product Governance
Checks at the Asset Provider Level
For providers whose investments we offer on our platform, our governance framework considers a range of factors which can include the following:
- Company information
- Governance structure and policies
- Regulatory considerations
- Outsourcing agreements
- Reporting and accounting practices
- Operational structure and policy
- Financial strength of the fund provider
Checks for Collective Investments
For collective investments (e.g. funds) we enable our customers to invest in, our governance framework considers a range of factors which can include the following:
- Cost of ownership
- Investment performance
- Liquidity
- Media coverage
- Service level key performance indicators
- Complexity status
- MiFID II status
The committee also considers the following risks in its governance framework:
- The investment does not offer value for money for the customers or does not perform as expected.
- An inappropriate investment is distributed to a specific target market.
- The investment manager ceases to trade, or an investment is subject to an unexpected closure.
- We or the investment manager are unable to implement accurate and timely transactions.
- Contractual and counterparty credit risk.
Oversight is provided by reviewing all investments made available to our customers and clients as well as the attribution measures on a monthly and quarterly basis.
When an investment hits a governance trigger, this is fully investigated and when appropriate a recommendation is brought to the committee, which could include removal of the investment from the platform or life company.
