FCA Updates - October 2021

FCA Writes to a Further 950 DB Pension Advice Customers Potentially Entitled to Compensation

Laura Febbrari and Darragh Finn

The FCA has written to a total of 3,591 customers of defined benefit (DB) pension transfer advice firms in liquidation this year to inform them that they may be entitled to compensation.

The letters outline how customers can claim from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme and direct them to the FCA’s DB pension transfer advice checker, to help them decide whether the advice they received was suitable.

The FCA has published a full list of firms who are in insolvent liquidation and have provided unsuitable advice. 

The FCA is focused on supporting consumers who have received unsuitable DB transfer advice. It aims to ensure that such harm is remedied and that consumers receive appropriate compensation. 

The FCA recently published its Consumer Investments Strategy, which sets out a three year plan to address potential harm to investors. 

Firms providing DB pension transfer advice should follow the FCA’s Finalised Guidance, FG 21/3 “Advising on pension transfers”, to understand the processes required to provide suitable advice.
 
To read the original article click here. 

Investment Firms Prudential Regime Final Rules Published

Thomas Bevan and Matteo Basso

The FCA has published final rules to simplify prudential requirements for solo-regulated UK firms authorised under the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID). This is part of the IFPR, which comes into force on 1 January 2022.

IFPR will refocus requirements and expectations away from the risks that firms face, so that the potential harm firms can pose to consumers and markets are also considered and managed.

The FCA has converted the near-final rules from the first two policy statements of the IFPR into final rules. 

The final rules are in the legal instruments – FCA 2021/38 and FCA 2021/39. You can read a summary of minor updates made since the regulator published the near-final versions of the instruments in PS21/9.

The FCA has also published in FG21/5 an updated version of their general guidance on the application of ex-post risk adjustment to variable remuneration, which brings FCA investment firms into scope of the guidance.

Also now available are:

• A Remuneration Policy Statement template, which FCA investment firms can use to document their remuneration policies and practices
• A template, which FCA investment firms can use to record their material risk takers 

For more updates and information, firms can sign up to the FCA’s new IFPR newsletter by emailing [email protected] with ‘sign up’ in the subject line.

Financial Regulators Publish Fourth Edition of Plan for Upcoming Work

Kristian Sotiriou and Alex Lander

On 1 November 2021, the Financial Services Regulatory Initiatives Forum issued the fourth edition of the Regulatory Initiatives Grid. The first edition of the Grid was published in April 2020. 

There are many initiatives discussed in the latest Grid, but the main focus seems to be on the new climate and environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues in capital markets. It also includes the introductions of Net Zero plans and the Sustainable Finance Disclosure regime.

Click here for the full article.