A leading broker is to offer reduced charges for those opening investment funds, it has been announced.

TD Waterhouse has managed to negotiate better discounts on initial sales charges for more than 900 of the investment products it sells.

Of these, 429 will have a charge of zero per cent, while 282 of the investments will have a maximum charge of 0.25 per cent.

Angus Rigby, chief executive officer at the firm, explained that the company is also looking to further increase the number of products it offers.

He said: Investors in the UK are becoming increasingly sophisticated and are looking for a wider range of products and extra services to fit with their investment approach.

The choice of funds on offer covers investments in the UK and emerging markets, he added.

Yesterday, Chris White, a member of Threadneedle's income team, claimed that although they have not performed well so far this year, equity income funds are still good investments.