Clean funds gain momentum as investors get wise to charges

Stuart Welch, CEO, TD Direct Investing comments: "Growing consumer awareness around fund charging, combined with last minute ISA investing before the end of the tax-year, has led to a 268% increase in clean fund purchases by TD clients.
 
"This has resulted in a double appearance for Aberdeen Emerging Markets Acc in the top ten buys table for March. The fund, which is a firm favourite among our clients, sees both the trail bearing and clean versions appear in first and eight positions respectively.  Meanwhile, the second most popular fund among our clients, First State's Global Emerging Market Leaders Acc, also sees its clean equivalent sitting just outside the top ten buys in 12th position.
 
"With the recent introduction of income tax on trail commission rebates signalling another nail in the coffin for the future of trail bearing funds, we continue to push fund managers to make clean funds available to DIY investors. Since January, we have nearly doubled the number of clean funds on our platform to 1,480 and are really starting to see an increase in take-up as more clients start to understand what clean funds are all about.
 
"Supporting DIY investors with education is key, which is why we have recently launched a free Investing in Funds eGuide and seminar to further help people with their investing decisions. The seminar takes place at our London investor Centre on Thursday, 25th April. More details can be found on our website: tddirectinvesting.co.uk."