On 28 September, investment platforms received a “Dear CEO” letter, following previous letters in February 2020 and July 2021. It was addressed to platforms, but what does it mean for advisers? The FCA uses Dear CEO letters to raise awareness and highlight areas of concern around regulatory compliance and industry practices. This letter raised concerns
As demonstrated by the Dear CEO letter sent to advisers in December, the FCA expects advisers to conduct robust due diligence on the services that they recommend. Nowhere is this more important than with a complex product like IHT business relief portfolios. (Published on Money Marketing 31/1/2023) Inheritance tax (IHT) is an increasingly pervasive stealth
After 5 fallow years, the revived PFS Festival of Financial Planning was a huge success last week at the NEC, with an estimated 2,500 financial planners attending a rich array of presentations and discussions. We were delighted to present to 140+ planners on Investment due diligence in practice – and thank you to the many
Press Release issued 24 February 2022 A free platform due diligence service launches today covering 19 platforms, to help advisers get the information they need to meet FCA rules and expectations. As well as proposition information and research filters to help identify the services which will meet client needs, the system has a rich library
(1st published by Citywire New Model Adviser on 10 Feb, 2022 at: https://citywire.com/new-model-adviser/news/ifas-must-sharpen-provider-checks-under-fca-consumer-duty/a237915) Due diligence involves not just looking at the product or service, but also examining the provider and thinking about the risks the FCA has identified. Advisers often call us for help, asking what the FCA actually expects in terms of research and due
Any meaningful due diligence exercise means looking at – and assessing – a lot of information, not to mention evidencing that assessment (in case the FCA or your PI insurers ever ask). Scoring each provider’s responses is a good way of keeping track of and evidencing the process, and also allows easy sharing of your
A new “Dear CEO” question set gives advisers the info they need to consider issues raised in recent FCA letters
(First published in Personal Finance Professional, Autumn 2020) “Listen up class, here are the subjects that will come up in your mocks,” is how the FCA’s Dear CEO letter to IFA firms back in January should be read. No precise detail but enough to get ready. And whilst the announced suitability review has been
We launched on 5 February 2019 with high hopes – both DFMs and advisers had been telling us what a hassle it was to respond to and process due diligence requests, so DD|hub was launched to bring DFM due diligence into the digital age. One year on, and adviser reactions have been fantastic – many
We often hear about the need to undertake research and due diligence on the products and services recommended to clients, but what does that mean in practice? Specifically, is undertaking research the same as due diligence, or are the two different? And this is an important question, because there is confusion in the market about