A drive by the UK Financial Services Authority to encourage investment managers to split the commissions they pay for equity research and trading has shown long-awaited signs of progress, with just one-third of spending now being bundled together.

The proportion that investment managers spend on equity research alongside trading commissions has dropped to 36%, compared to 48% in 2005, the UK financial regulator said. Its assessment was published last night following a review into the impact of unbundling reforms it made three years ago.