The FCA has issued a decision notice which found that three asset management firms breached competition law. This was the first formal decision made by the FCA under its competition enforcement powers.
The firms subject to the Decision Notice were:
- Hargreave Hale Ltd;
- Newton Investment Management Limited; and
- River and Mercantile Asset Management LLP (RAMAM).
The FCA fined Hargreave Hale Ltd £306,300 and RAMAM £108,600. The FCA did not impose a fine on Newton because it was given immunity under the competition leniency programme.
The infringements consisted of the sharing of strategic information, on a bilateral basis, between competing asset management firms during one initial public offering and one placing, shortly before the share prices were set. The firms disclosed and/or accepted otherwise confidential bidding intentions, in the form of the price they were willing to pay and sometimes the volume they wished to acquire. This allowed one firm to know another’s plans during the IPO or placing process when they should have been competing for shares.
https://www.fca.org.uk/news/press-releases/fca-issues-its-first-decision-under-competition-law
