The FCA’s Platform Policy Statement in April (PS13/1) confirmed the ban on cash rebates above £1 per month, per fund from April 2014 for new business and all legacy payments between fund managers and platforms from April 2016, otherwise known as ‘the sunset clause’. 

The resulting outcome is that trail commission will cease and there has been an industry move towards clean share classes and fully transparent pricing.

From 6 April 2016 the FCA’s rulings will come into effect regarding how platforms should be paid for assets they hold on behalf of clients. Any adviser firm using a platform that wants to continue to receive remuneration on its pre-Retail Distribution Review (RDR), commission-paying business after April 2016 needs to take action to move business into its own adviser charging model.

The FCA believe that the best way of improving transparency in the platform market and removing the potential for bias is by ensuring the consumer pays a platform charge to the platform for the service provided.

The policy statement can be found here.