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Politicians have accused Britain’s big DIY investment platforms of a “Kafkaesque distortion” of consumer norms.
The allegations center on the treatment of investment trusts – large publicly traded companies that buy a range of assets, including shares, property and infrastructure.
Trusts won a victory this year when the Government scrapped old EU rules that made them look more expensive to investors than they really were.
But despite this, Baroness Ros Altmann has accused investment platforms, including the UK’s largest, Hargreaves Lansdown, of forcing investment trusts to continue obeying the old rules or risk being kicked out. of their websites.
‘Kafkaesque distortion’: Allegations focus on investment trusts – large listed companies that buy a range of assets including shares, property and infrastructure.
Altmann, a former pensions minister, said the platforms were “putting themselves above the law” and using “self-interest to deny clients access to undervalued investments”. He added: “Threatening to bar access to retail investors unless a company agrees to provide misleading or false information is a Kafkaesque distortion of consumer duty.”
It was backed by Liberal Democrat Baroness Sharon Bowles, who said investment trusts were “bullied into providing conflicting and confusing information” to investors.
Hargreaves Lansdown has been contacted for comment.
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