The UK's financial regulator has demanded the country’s investment consultants be investigated by the Competition and Markets Authority after ruling the industry is plagued by opaque fees and conflicts of interest.

The Financial Conduct Authority rejected pleas from the UK’s biggest consultancy firms to be spared a full-blown inquiry and this morning announced that the industry, which advises on £1.6tn in client assets and plays a key role in how the country’s pension funds invest, should be referred to the antitrust body.