AIC welcomes proposed listing rules reforms to protect investors

The Association of Investment Companies (AIC) has responded to the FCA’s consultation paper ‘Proposed changes to the UK Listing Rules for closed-ended investment funds’ (CP26/21).

Richard Stone, Chief Executive of the Association of Investment Companies (AIC), said: “These proposals would strengthen investor protection, particularly when a substantial shareholder like Saba Capital seeks to replace the board and become the manager. They address a gap in the rules where a shareholder who wants to manage the company can seize control of the board to promote its own interests at the expense of other shareholders.

“We’d like to extend our thanks to the FCA for listening to our concerns and proposing meaningful reform. We welcome this short consultation period of only seven weeks which should help to get these rules in place swiftly. We will work with the FCA and industry to analyse the potential impact of these reforms and get them implemented as quickly as possible. In the meantime, we would expect market participants to respect the spirit of these proposals.

“As the FCA has highlighted, the other important piece of the puzzle is voting reform to make sure all shareholders can exercise their rights. We have been pressing the government to implement the recommendations of the Digitisation Taskforce and it’s encouraging to hear that work is beginning on this.”