SHRE.L Regulatory News (SHRE)

AIM: SHRE

Share plc

("Share" or "the Group")

Transparent pricing structure for Funds

Share plc which operates The Share Centre Limited ("The Share Centre"), a leading independent UK stockbroker, is pleased to report that The Share Centre has taken what it believes to be a market-leading position in transparency regarding its charges to customers who wish to invest in funds.

In a statement issued today, The Share Centre has set out the principles behind its new pricing structure for fund investment. All customers of The Share Centre who wish to invest in funds will be charged a simple flat administration fee irrespective of the size of the portfolio or assets held within the account. There will be no 'platform fee' charged for investing in funds and The Share Centre will offer only "clean" class funds.

The new flat rate pricing structure reflects the Group's aims to enable more people to enjoy straightforward investing and to offer services and service levels which will build customer loyalty for the long term.

As Share has previously stated in its Annual Report 2012, regulation resulting from the Retail Distribution Review is opening up a significant opportunity for the Group to grow its customer base and the value of the assets its administers. The Share Centre's fully transparent position on its pricing structure represents another strong differentiator against many of its peers.

Richard Stone, Chief Executive-elect, commented,

"We support the FCA's drive for greater transparency and fairness in investor charges and aim to offer our customers a fee structure that underpins this.

"In the interest of investors we have taken decisive action ahead of the deadline set out by the RDR, which states that fund managers will no longer pay 'trail commission' to brokers. Going forward we will only be offering the clean class version of funds. Trail commission is taken as a percentage of the value of an investor's portfolio - affecting performance. As clean funds do not include this, annual management charges are lower, which will lead to improved fund performance, all else being equal.

"Whilst other brokers look to replace the profit they will have made from trail commission by charging a 'platform fee', which is typically a percentage of an investors fund portfolio, we won't be. We believe investors should not be penalised for investing in funds, especially as they are often an effective way for personal investors to diversify their portfolios.

"Historically, fund investors have suffered hidden charges taken as a percentage of their portfolios in the form of higher management charges, which are passed back to the broker. The FCA is making these charges explicit, but we want to go a step further and bring them to an end all together. We believe that our model is the only charging structure that provides real transparency to the retail investor, and is in keeping with the RDR's intentions."

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