Client Asset Sourcebook (CASS) for Investment Firms

2 August 2015 Steve BaileyCompliance

In Consultation Paper ‘CP13/5: Review of the client asset regime for investment business’ here, the FCA proposed changes to the rules in CASS to address specific risks, to clarify the requirements firms must comply with and to enhance the client assets regime to achieve better results for consumers and increase confidence in financial markets.

The Policy Statement ‘PS14/9: Review of the client assets regime for investment business’ here, followed on from the consultation and summarised the feedback the FCA received, provided their response and set out final rules.

In the May 2015 issue of their Regulation Round-Up, the FCA reminded firms of the timescales for complying with the changes and, to help firms understand the changes, they published a recording of a CASS briefing held in January for CASS medium firms.

This is a useful video which you can watch here.

Don’t forget to check Our View about this article and the Actions Required By You

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Our View

This is simply a reminder to all CASS firms that there are a large number of changes (too many to list here) which have been introduced over the past 12 months.

The FCA expects all firms to be in compliance with the changes (to the extent relevant).

The majority of changes affect CASS 6 Custody rules and CASS 7 Client Money rules.

Action Required By You

If the CASS sourcebook applies to your firm you should review the Policy Statement in detail and watch the video to establish how the changes have affected your firm.