The FCA has brought in new rules for certain open-ended funds investing in inherently illiquid assets, like property and real estate. The new rules will not apply to UCITS and other funds which already have restrictions in place. Instead these rules cover non-UCITS retail schemes (NURSs). The new rules mean that investors must be given clear […]

Improving the suitability of financial advice – Fact finding and reporting The following Speech by Debbie Gupta, Director of Life Insurance and Financial Advice Supervision at the FCA, delivered at Money Marketing Interactive Conference 2019, Harrogate addressed the thorny issue of Improving the suitability of financial advice – Fact finding and reporting The full speech […]

1. Tim Howarth, Head of Financial Services Consulting and Risk Consulting at KPMG, has left the company following an internal investigation into his conduct. Howarth was previously a senior manager at the FCA’s predecessor, the Financial Services Authority (FSA). 2. Howarth, who had worked for KPMG for 15 years, was investigated over allegations of misconduct […]

This FCA Dear CEO letter sets out the FCA  view of the key risks of harm that Wealth Management and Stockbroking firms pose to their customers or the markets in which they operate. You should consider whether your firm presents these risks and consider your strategies for mitigating them. the FCA  Wealth Management and Stockbroking […]

Following the lifting of reporting restrictions, the FCA has announced that Richard Baldwin, a luxury-watch dealer, has been convicted in his absence, for money laundering. Baldwin is the sixth person to be convicted as part of ‘Operation Tabernula’, the FCA’s biggest insider-trading investigation to date. He was convicted in July 2017 after absconding from justice […]

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has today fined Bank of Scotland (BOS) £45,500,000 for failures to disclose information about its suspicions that fraud may have occurred at the Reading-based Impaired Assets (IAR) team of Halifax Bank of Scotland. The FCA found that BOS failed to be open and cooperative and failed to disclose information appropriately […]

Mourant’s in Jersey have offered an excellent acronym to the lexicon of compliance language, namely “P.R.O.T.E.C.T against sanction”. Where a business has identified potential breaches of law, regulation or duties owed to third parties, there will be multiple considerations arising and priorities to address. the following key reminders should be considered when putting together a […]

The following is part of a Speech delivered by Karina McTeague, Director of General Insurance and Conduct Specialists Supervision, at the British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA) Conference 2019. Sustainable business models Andrew Bailey, the FCA’s Chief Executive, has previously talked about the UK having had two financial crises: the first, was prudential the second, was […]