It is only February but the FCA has been very busy writing a series of ‘Dear CEO’ letters.

Below we summarise and comment on each of the letters and would suggest that each of the letters has content of relevance to ALL firms and so it will be of benefit to review them all.

The Financial Adviser one
On 21 January this letter was issued to adviser firms. We are aware that not all adviser firms have received the adviser letter. It is not clear why but the content is relevant to all firms so we recommend that firms do read the letter even if not received driectly to date.

The focus of the letter was:

• Suitability of advice and disclosure
  Following adverse findings in previous thematic reviews, the FCA has confirmed that there will be yet another suitability review this year. And firms’ compliance with the costs and charges disclosure rules will also be looked at;
• Pension transfer advice
  In particular, the regulator remains seriously concerned about the suitability of transfer advice. Firms involved in this market are under close scrutiny. There is no sign that this scrutiny will end anytime soon;
• Pension and investment scams
  Scams are often closely linked with transfer advice and firms are reminded of the part they can play in protecting consumers from harm;
• Financial resources and PI cover
  This is an increasing concern for the FCA. They have found many firms with insufficient financial resources and PI cover that falls short of what is required under the rules. Many firms are finding PI costs increasing at an alarming rate or indeed are struggling to obtain cover at all. ATEB is aware that the FCA is definitely focused on this whole area as absence of sufficient resources and PI cover are an obvious risk to consumers. Firms must notify the FCA in the event of capital or PI shortfalls;
• SM&CR
  A reminder;
• EU withdrawal
  No surprises that the regulator wishes to ensure that firms are prepared for whatever impact EU withdrawal might have.

GI Firms
This was the first of the letters and was issued on 6 January to wholesale General Insurance firms about non-financial misconduct. We wrote about this recently, see here. It is not clear why the letter was only sent to GI firms as it seems to us that the content is relevant to all firms.

Asset Managers
On 20 January, Asset Managers were the target of a letter describing the FCA’s concerns and priorities on a number of topics including:

• Liquidity management
  No doubt spurred by the Woodford Fund debacle;
• Corporate governance
  Building on the extension of SM&CR in December 2019 and referring to new rules, for example requiring firms to undertake regular ‘value’ assessments on each fund ;
• Product governance
  The PROD rules introduced under MiFIDII are a continued focus, with the aim of ensuring that products are designed with suitability for particular types of investor in mind;
• Cessation of LIBOR
  LIBOR is being phased out following the discovery of market manipulation by participants;
• Operational resilience
  There have been several examples of high profile firms caught out by hackers or malware and the FCA is keen to minimise the potential for consumer harm;
• EU withdrawal
  As above.

Platforms
Most recently, on 6 February, Platform Operators received their letter. The focus of this letter was:

• Technology and operational resilience
  In addition to the concerns around resilience described under Asset Managers above, the FCA also flagged potential issues arising from insufficient investment or resources to maintain and upgrade platform functionality and data security. Special mention is made of the need to ensure that software upgrades are planned robustly. Over the past couple of years, virtually every platform upgrade or migration has run into severe difficulties;
• Third party outsourcing
  Citing inadequate governance and oversight and unclear contractual agreements;
• Conflicts of interest
  In particular, the need for platforms to offer fund lists based on objective criteria rather than on, for example, the size of discount on offer;
• Rule requirements
  Platform Operators are reminded of the new rules intended to simplify transfer between platforms, and the need to have robust best execution processes. The difficult topic of aggregated costs disclosure was also mentioned. Many firms, including platforms are not getting this right and the FCA is closely monitoring this aspect;
• EU withdrawal
  As above.