John Bennett: Assessing the complex concept of 'value'

The Retail Distribution Review was the starting gun in reducing costs for investors, and MiFID II has had a profound impact on cost transparency. Nowadays, we have full, multi-level cash disclosure, which has come as a bit of a shock to many clients - particularly those with larger portfolios. Asset-based fees are finally coming under greater scrutiny as a result. The cost of administering a constant number of investment holdings doesn't scale proportionately, and larger clients inevitably end up subsidising smaller ones. But cost is not the only concern for investors and for the r...