NETHERLANDS – ABN Amro will raise the fees charged on most of its investment funds on 1 April.

In a statement it said that a new fee structure would be put in place for 85 funds and the fees on 59 would increase by an average 21%.

ABN Amro spokesman Neil Moorhouse said that instead of the fluctuating administration charges levied currently, “we will introduce a fixed service fee so that the costs will no longer differ each year”.

The bank added that the change brings its pricing more into line with the market and is more transparent as the overall fee structure will in principle be the same for comparable funds.

At the end of 2005, a report by the Winter Committee on corporate governance, chaired by the financial markets authority supervision committee Jaap Winter, advised Dutch finance minister Gerrit Zalm to urge the regulator to press for a new and more transparent fee structure.

Rivals Fortis and Delta Lloyd have also increased some fees in 2005. Robeco has indicated that currently it is not considering fee increases.

According to local analysts, increased management costs for the banks have resulted in lower yields for their funds. The main issue is that many investment funds have failed to beat their benchmarks.




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