Asset managers / RDR/MIFID-II/PRIIPS – The key considerations and forthcoming changes for Asset Management firms in ensuring the costs and charges of services offered are clearly disclosed to investors and how it can be an advantage for firms that do it effectively are considered below. Introduction Across the European and domestic regulatory landscape, clarity and […]

The FCA has published findings of the first stage of its post-implementation review of the Retail Distribution Review (RDR), including that: financial advisers are offering investors an increasingly professional service tailored to their individual needs; an increasing number of financial advisers are gaining further qualifications; and the impact of RDR on price has been mixed. […]

Sesame, the UK’s largest network of financial advisers, has been fined £1.6m by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for setting up a pay-to-play scheme that “undermined the ban on commission payments brought in by the Retail Distribution Review (RDR)”. The pay-to-play scheme meant the range of products recommended to Sesame clients under its restricted advice […]

  The Retail Distribution Review (RDR) was introduced on 31 December 2012. One of the main aims of the RDR) was to increase transparency for consumers on the services offered by advisers and the charges for these services, and the clarity of the information firms provide to their clients[1] through their disclosure material is an […]

Following unacceptable findings in the second cycle of the FCA’s review of the Retail Distribution Review (RDR) the FCA has published an assessment template enabling firms to review disclosure documents against the RDR’s key requirements. The template outlines the minimum standard expected in specific areas and may be used as a checklist. However, the template […]

  The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published a guide to how it will measure advisers’ disclosure efforts against its expectations, after it detected “unacceptable” shortcomings in its latest post-Retail Distribution Review (RDR) work. The regulator has produced an ‘assessment tool’ against which firms can check how they explain charges and their regulatory status to […]

Post RDR/RFA we are now seeing a growth in the emergence of execution-only propositions or non-qualified employees being used to provide market views and or guidance without advice. These services are sometimes called an ‘information only’ or ‘non-advice’ service. Whilst these propositions clearly state that they are not offering advice, regulators (FCA/GFSC/JFSC) are growing increasingly […]

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has found “unacceptable” failings with advisers’ disclosure of their fees and status and is planning to turn up the heat on firms to get it right. What do advisers think went wrong? One financial advisory business is “likely” to be referred to the regulator’s enforcement division for failings related to […]