The City fund 'dinosaurs' still gobbling up billions for poor performance

BIG City funds are eating up 20% of the returns earned by small investors and face extinction unless they reform, analysis for the Evening Standard suggests

- Simon English

Dubbed “investment dinosaurs”, some of the oldest and grandest names in the City risk losing customers to cheaper funds which track the stock market, or to the new breed of retail investor confident to pick their own shares.

SCM Direct measured the performance over the past five years of £653 billion worth of funds managed by Abrdn, Schroders, Quilters, M&G, Jupiter, Liontrust, Rathbones, iShares and Vanguard.

The results do not make pretty reading for the fund giants, many of whom have been stalwarts of the City for decades. Abrdn traces its history back to 1825 and manages £875 billion on behalf of pension funds and small investors in ISAs. Abrdn’s charges as a percentage of investments underlying returns over the last five years are a staggering 31%. Vanguard, the cheap US tracker giant, charges 2%.

The funds analysed have taken nearly £15 billion in fees in the past five years.