The Association of Unit Trusts and Investment Funds (Autif) and the Fund Managers' Association (FMA) are in talks for a merger, which could come into effect in early 2002.

The proposed merger makes sense for a number of reasons, including the fact that many of the fund manager memberships overlap. Autif covers the retail investment market, often part of larger fund management operations, which is more than likely to be represented by the FMA.