From 1 April, fund research costs for the £8bn CF Woodford Equity Income fund will be paid for by his company, Woodford Investment Management, rather than by clients.

While research costs are just a small part of the charges and costs that are deducted from a fund’s return, the firm said it is committed to giving investors more transparency on the total cost of investing.

It will disclose all costs associated with the fund on a single page on its website and update the figures every 12 months.

Craig Newman, chief executive at Woodford Investment Management, said: “We are acutely aware that it is investors’ money, not ours, we are investing. Just as investors deserve to know where their money is invested, they also deserve to know how we have spent their money to make those investments.

“Ultimately the investment performance, net of all costs, is what investors are interested in. But we also want our investors to be able to see the total costs taken from the fund – how much we have to pay to buy and sell stocks within the portfolio, and how much we have to pay in subsequent taxes, for example. Research costs are a function of our role and we believe it is only right that Woodford, not our investors, pay for it.”

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) estimates around £1.5bn is paid annually to brokers for providing investment research to fund managers.

Laith Khalaf, senior analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “Woodford isn’t sitting on his laurels, and is leading the charge when it comes to transparency in the fund management arena.”

Total costs for the CF Woodford Equity Income Fund for its first full calendar year in 2015 were: