The chief executive at Vanguard, which houses the world's largest bond fund, has warned that bank-like regulation of the funds industry would be “inappropriate and potentially harmful", the latest salvo in a long-running debate over whether asset managers and their funds pose systemic risks.

Vanguard chief executive Bill McNabb told an asset management conference in Washington, DC, this week that while the industry is highly and fairly regulated, the regulatory outlook is "very uncertain".