We have covered regulatory requirements around replacement business, more commonly referred to as switch business, before. As this appears to comprise a significant proportion of the source of many firms’ business, it is always relevant to revisit this from time to time. You can link to our previous articles here. It is particularly relevant to […]
Back in June 2020, the FCA published an ‘advice checker’ to help consumers assess whether pension transfer advice they had received might be unsuitable and might warrant a complaint. This has now been updated and relaunched. Details can be found here and the page includes a link to the checker itself. It is interesting […]
The FCA has made the following announcement. “This morning we have announced that we are using emergency powers to prevent certain financial advice firms, who advised members of the British Steel Pension Scheme (BSPS), from disposing of assets to avoid paying compensation. This follows our previous announcement on proposals for a redress scheme for former BSPS members. […]
Policy Statement PS 20-06 stated that a firm providing pension transfer advice “… may also not charge less than it would charge for investment advice of the same value”. That seems clear enough, but the rule that gives effect to this statement is subtly different. COBS 19.1B.7 states: “A firm should not charge less […]
The FCA has published a Thematic Review report which provides some observations around the quality of wind-down planning in firms. The report can be read here. A brief summary of the key observations is noted below. Liquidity During wind-down a firm must continue to pay its liabilities as they fall due. Failure to do […]
The FCA’s proposed Consumer Duty is getting a lot of airplay in the trade media. First mooted in the FCA’s business plan a while back, it has been the subject of a couple of consultation papers, namely CP21/13 (May 2021) and CP 21/36 (December 2021). We have already written briefly about the Consumer Duty […]
In March 2019 the FCA published PS19/8 to increase the ombudsman service’s award limit from £150,000 to £350,000 for complaints about acts or omissions by firms on or after 1 April 2019. It was increased to £160,000 for complaints referred to the service on or after 1 April 2019 about earlier acts or omissions. At […]
The FCA has consulted on proposed changes to the Appointed Representatives (AR) regime. The proposed changes aim to reduce potential harm arising across the sectors where they operate. The context in which these changes are considered necessary is that FCA data show that principals have more complaints per £1m of revenue compared to non-principals, […]
We recently reviewed a pension transfer report where the client was recommended to transfer out of the defined benefit scheme into the client’s pre-existing SIPP. We considered that the recommendation to transfer appeared to be appropriate. However, the client had what the FCA calls an ‘available qualifying scheme’, more commonly referred to as a […]
Our new website is www.thistleinitiatives.co.uk. There will be no further posts here from ATEB Compliance. You can keep up to date with all of our usual regulatory and company updates here going forward.
Upgraded ATEB Member’s Area
Huw Reynolds Compliance email, training
We are delighted to announce that our new and upgraded Member’s Area will be available on Monday 9th May. Aligned to our current standards and branding, it provides access to a comprehensive toolkit of processes, procedures and templates, as well as training material, such as webinars and supervisory workshops. We will be adding […]