UK Regulators: Out of step with the rest of the world on ETFs? City Minister responds.

by | February 19, 2024 | Bitcoin Policy, News

We sent an open letter on 3 January of this year to Bim Afolami MP, in his capacity as the City Minister. Our letter is copied below, and addresses the apparent inequity whereby UK retail investors remain unable to invest in exchange-traded products, even though these products may be offered by UK regulated firms.

 

This has resulted in the absurd consequence of firms like Jacobi Asset Management having to list and offer their products in other jurisdictions, while US and EU citizens are able freely to invest in such products in their domestic markets.

 

We worked with Jacobi on a ‘deep dive’ into their product in order to research the issues we discussed in our letter:

 
 

We are pleased that the City Minister has now responded, and we include a copy of his letter below. While we acknowledge that progress on these matters is slow, we are grateful for his support in this area. Our view is that we are moving in the right direction and the FCA may eventually review and revise their current position, which is beginning to put the UK market and its retail investors at a significant disadvantage in comparison to investors in other major financial centres.