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 starts to take hold
Lisa Cross Compliance
Consumer Duty rules will take full effect from 31 July 2023. However, it is starting to show its face already. This message is now appearing on Connect in some circumstances. “The majority of firm types that need to apply for authorisation or existing firms seeking to vary their permissions will need to comply with […]