Speaking at the event CMA project director Alison Gold says that the regulator had looked into this issue as part of its wide-ranging investigation into investment consultants and fiduciary management.
She says at the time their research suggested master trusts set up by EBCs covered just 1 per cent of employers, so there did not appear to be a competition issue.
She says: “There may be broader issues to think about in this area but we are not taking this further at present.”
However she conceded that the master trust sector had evolved over the past year or two. Delegates at the conference suggested that this figure did not reflect current marketshare.
Gold says that the CMA did not have the remit to return to its original investigation and look at this market again.
She says: “If there are competition issues, the FCA or the TPR may be the body to look at this in the first instance. If they think there is a more widespread problem they can refer the issue back to us.”
However, representatives from EBCs pointed out that there was a danger of creating a two-tier system, and regulators should ensure the same competition rules apply to insurers selling GPP solutions to employers.
In a bid to increase competition within the pensions market, Gold says the CMA would like to make mandate for greater cost disclosure on pension funds, and related investment consultancy charges.
At present the FCA is in the process of introducing new best practice guidelines on this issue, but these will remain voluntary standards for the time being. These cost disclose templates have been devised by FCA Institutional Disclosure Working Group, chaired by Chris Sier.
At a speech yesterday Sier said his preference was for these standards to remain voluntary.
Gold also confirmed that the CMA will publish its final report on investment consultants and fiduciary management at the end of the year, with the a view to implementing recommendations in 2019.
Gold says that the CMA does not have a problem with investment consultants selling fiduciary management service, but it must be flagged up that this is marketing not part of the advice service paid for.
While this report largely refers to the DB pension sector, she says she envisaged the same principles applying to DC pensions too. She adds: “Only 38 per cent of trustees of DC schemes use investment consultants and only 5 per cent use fiduciary management services. This compares to 83 per cent of DB trustees buying consultancy services.”
She says she would like to see greater transparency in this area to enable trustees to better assess the value of these services. She adds the CMA intends to regulate to ensure trustees must run competitive tenders for these services.