Fears other firms may be hiding risks

The Standard Life debacle has led to fears other institutions may have been dabbling in higher-risk assets than their marketing literature suggests.

Angus Willson of Ridgeway Financial Partnership said: "This is a welcome move from Standard Life and it may cause other insurers to look at their 'cash' funds to see just how much actual cash they are investing in. Investors expect a cash fund to be just that: low-risk and mainly cash-type investments."