PRESS RELEASE  5 DECEMBER 2013 – The Review of Financial Advice (“RFA”) project commenced in August 2011 with the publication of Position Paper No. 1 on the Review of Financial Advice.

On 27 September 2013, the Jersey Financial Services Commission (the “Commission”) published Consultation Paper No. 8 2013: Proposed Revisions of the Codes of Practice for Investment Business with respect to the Review of Financial Advice (“Consultation Paper No. 8 2013”) with a deadline for comments to be provided to the Commission of 7 November 2013. From the outset, the proposed implementation date for changes to the regulatory requirements has remained as 1 January 2014.

In parallel with the RFA project, the Commission has been considering amendments to seven of the published Codes of Practice as set out in Consultation Paper No. 4 2011: Proposed Amendments to Codes of Practice, published April 2011 (“Consultation Paper No. 4 2011”).

The Commission is aware that to give full effect to the amendments proposed to the Codes of Practice for Investment Businesses (“IB Codes”) a number of registered persons may need to amend their client terms and conditions.

Consequently, following consideration of responses to Consultation Paper No. 8 2013, and in advance of publishing the full feedback paper, the Commission can confirm the following:

The IB Codes will be implemented as consulted except for three clarificatory amendments:

(i) a registered person is only required to classify its Class C and Class D clients;

(ii) with respect to the criteria that must be considered before a registered person may consider a client as a professional client, the registered person must form an opinion in light of the “transaction or services envisaged” rather than the consulted IB Codes which referred to “services to be provided and transactions to be concluded”; and

(iii) to make it clear that the client classification, QCF Level 4 professional qualification and amended remuneration requirements only apply where a registered person provides investment advice.

The amendments to the IB Codes resulting from the RFA project will be effective from 1 January 2014; however, with respect to Codes of Practice amendments resulting from Consultation Paper No. 4 2011, the Commission has agreed a six-month transitional period for all new or materially amended requirements.

http://www.jerseyfsc.org/the_commission/general_information/press_releases/release310.asp