FCA suitability report good practice states that you should use “clear and plain language” and that “overly long reports may reduce a customer’s ability to consider the recommendations being made”.
A good report will cut to the chase and explain concisely the reasons for the recommendation (the reasons WHY) and should not replicate what is contained in other documents, only refer to them.
Supporting information (for example, Glossary of Terms, Attitude to Risk definitions, Fact Find snapshot) should wherever possible be contained in appendices so that the reasons why are not diluted.



Suitability reports – silver bullet, or not?
Paul Jay Compliance, Suitability DB Pension, FCA, MiFID, Pension, Pension Transfer, PI, transfer, Xplan
If you ask most advice firms which part of the advice process consumes the most time, most will reply: “Suitability Reports”. Based on the mammoth documents that some firms still produce, we can understand why. We do have some sympathy with firms though. On the one hand they’re told by the FCA that reports are […]