Asset managers continue to underestimate the amount of capital the UK’s financial watchdog expects them to hold in reserve for business emergencies. This is leading to multi-million pound hits to profits — although their assessments do appear to be improving.

According to a survey of 30 UK asset managers by KPMG, the professional services firm, all 24 that have received a visit from the Financial Conduct Authority in the past four years were asked to allocate more money to their capital buffers. This forced them to increase existing levels by 39% on average.