The FCA employs a principle based approach to regulation. Principle 7 states that “A firm must pay due regard to the information needs of its clients, and communicate information to them in a way which is clear, fair and not misleading.”
This is a fundamental cornerstone required of all client communication.
While some degree of technical information is inevitable, your suitability reports should nevertheless be easily understood. One effective way to test the clarity of your suitability reports is to ask a friend or family member, who has no financial services experience, and who is more likely to provide frank observations, to read and to provide critical feedback.



Consumer Duty – Are you a manufacturer?
Alistair MacDougall Compliance 2017, 2022, Conduct, FCA, PI, platform
In our article last week, we highlighted the deadlines for implementation of Consumer Duty – 30 April and 31 July … … the rules for existing products and services take effect on 31 July and the earlier deadline of 30 April is for Manufacturers to have completed some preparatory work. Hard on the heels […]