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.



Thematic review of retirement income advice
Shirley McKenzie Compliance 2015, 2022, FCA, Lifetime Mortgage, Mortgage, Pension, PI, Suitability Review
The FCA has announced that it will shortly be undertaking a thematic review to assess the advice consumers are receiving on meeting their income needs in retirement. Why? Previously planned work on this topic (known as ‘Assessing Suitability Review 2’) was paused as a reaction to Covid but the Regulator believes that it is […]