News Archive

NORTHERN FORUM –   4June 2013, The John Smith’s Stadium, Stadium Way, Huddersfield, HD1 6PG

Registration is now open for the above events.  The timings, format and agenda for both forums are the same and are;-

Agenda;-

1.00pm                       Registration (please bring ID if attending the London event)

1.30pm                       APCC Chairmans Update – Providing you with a review of the APCC’s recent activity and its plans for the future.

2.00pm                       FCA – Graham Hinslewood – An update on the FCA’s current Financial Incentives agenda, and an APCC update on our own working group on this area.

2.30pm                       FCA – Gordon Findlay – Providing a roundup of forthcoming communications and events

3.00pm                       APCC working group updates and findings covering Consumer Credit Act, RDR Reporting, Authorisations, and Institutional Panel Update

4.20pm onwards      An open forum and chance to discuss those hot topics and concerns with the FCA and the APCC Steering Council  

The events are expected to finish around 5pm, and are open to delegates from consultancy firms, the fee for delegates from member firms and participating affiliates firms is £48 per delegate (i.e. £40 plus VAT), the fee for delegates from other consultancy firms is £120 (i.e. £100 plus VAT).  If you would like to attend the Huddersfield event, please complete the Huddersfield booking form, and if you would like to attend the London event please complete the London  booking form.  by clicking on the link and emailing your completed form back to admin@apcc.org.uk

If you have any questions on the forums or have any difficulty making your event bookings do please email us on admin@apcc.org.uk  Delegate confirmations will be issued on a first come first served basis, delegates from member firms will be confirmed when the booking form is received, all other delegates will be confirmed when both the booking form and payment is received.

Registration is open for our regional forums. Please go to News and Events for registration forms

Agenda;-

1.00pm                   Registration (please bring ID if attending the London event)

1.30pm   APCC Chairmans Update – Providing you with a review of the APCC’s recent activity and its plans for the future.

2.00pm   FCA – Graham Hinslewood – An update on the FCA’s current Financial Incentives agenda, and an APCC update on our own working group on this area.

2.30pm   FCA – Gordon Findlay – Providing a roundup of forthcoming communications and events

3.00pm                   APCC working group updates and findings

·          Consumer Credit Act

·          RDR Reporting

·          Authorisations

·          Institutional Panel update

4.20pm onwards  An open forum and chance to discuss those hot topics and concerns with the FCA and the APCC Steering Council 

The events are expected to finish around 5pm, and are open to delegates from consultancy firms, the fee for delegates from member firms and participating affiliates firms is £48 per delegate (i.e. £40 plus VAT), the fee for delegates from other consultancy firms is £120 (i.e. £100 plus VAT).  If you would like to attend the Huddersfield event, please complete the Huddersfield event booking form, and if you would like to attend the London event please complete the London event booking form.  

If you have any questions on the forums or have any difficulty making your event bookings do please email me.  Delegate confirmations will be issued on a first come first served basis, delegates from member firms will be confirmed when the booking form is received, all other delegates will be confirmed when both the booking form and payment is received.

Registration for this all day event is now open.  You can book online or you can complete a registration form.  The detailed programme for the day can be found here.

The APCC is holding an interactive roundtable discussion with the FSA on the recent CP on the promotion of UCIS to the retail market. This event is open to delegates from APCC members and affiliate firms either in person or via webinar.  Delegates from non-member firms can listen live to the event via webinar.

The authors of the paper, Jason Pope and Louise Roger from the FSA will be at the event to listen to your questions and issues and to discuss them with you so this will be a highly interactive event. 

The event starts at 2:30 with registration open from 2 pm and is expected to finish about 4 pm.  The fee for delegates from APCC member and affiliate firms is £42 (£35 plus VAT) and for all other delegates the fee is £96 (£80 plus VAT).  You can book your place on this course using our online booking system for this event or by downloading and completing the registration form for this event.

This event will take place at the offices of Resources Global in 117 Houndsditch, London EC3A 7BT. 

This is an interactive event so please do come fully armed with all your questions and issues on the proposed restrictions to marketing UCIS contained in the CP.  

The APCC will be responding to this CP and so your opinion on it is particularly welcome.  Our submission to the FSA will summarise the views of the compliance consultancy industry to the CP - these views may well be contradictory as the APCC will not be taking a "house view" but will fully reflect the range of views held by the industry.   This roundtable discussion will therefore be particularly useful in enabling the industry to articulate its concerns over the CP and for these views to be fully expressed to the FSA. 

Program and registration details for the Northern Forum event to be held on 19 September at the John Smith Stadium (previously called the Galpharm Stadium) in Huddersfield.

The program for the event is as follows:

12:45 – 1:15 Registration, tea and coffee
1:15 – 1:20   Welcome and introduction - Russell Facer, APCC
1:20 – 3:00   Authorisations and Variations of Permissions – Current Issues presented by James
                    Borley, Gillian Lavabre and Nicola Wildman, managers within the FSA Authorisations
                    and Variations of Permissions Departmentincluding delegate Q & A
3:00 – 3:20   Tea
3:20 – 3:40   FSA Communications Department Update - David Thompson, FSA
3:40 – 4:00   APCC Update - Russell Facer, APCC

Delegates from both APCC member firms and from non-members are welcome.  The fee for delegates from APCC member and affiliate firms is £48 (£40 plus VAT) and for all other delegates the fee is £120 (£100 plus VAT).  You can book for this course using our online booking system for this event or by downloading and completing the registration form for this event.

This is an interactive event so please do come fully armed with all your questions and issues on authorisations and variations of permissions. 

Program and registration details for the Southern Forum event to be held on 26 September at 117 Houndsditch, London EC3A 7BT.

The program for the event is as follows:

10:00 – 10:30 Registration, tea and coffee
10:30 – 10:35 Welcome and introduction - Simon Collins, APCC
10:35 – 12:15 Authorisations and Variations of Permissions – Current Issues presented by managers
                     from the FSA's authorisations department including delegate Q & A
12:15 – 12:35 Tea break
12:35 – 13:00 FSA Communications Department Update - David Thompson, FSA
13:00 – 13:15 APCC Update - Simon Collins, APCC

Delegates from both APCC member firms and from non-members are welcome.  The fee for delegates from APCC member and affiliate firms is £48 (£40 plus VAT) and for all other delegates the fee is £120 (£100 plus VAT).  You can book for this course using our online booking system for this event or by downloading and completing the registration form for this event.

This is an interactive event so please do come fully armed with all your questions and issues on authorisations and variations of permissions. 

A reminder for our 19 September forum in Huddersfield and (12:45 until 4 pm) and our central London forum on 26 September (10:00 until 1:30pm). 

Our September forums will be held on 19 September in Huddersfield (12:30 until 4 pm) and on 26 September in central London (10:00 until 1:30pm).  The main subjects to be covered will be authorisations and variations of permissions when two managers from that department in the FSA will be discussing current issues on these topics.  This will be fully interactive so please come armed with plenty of questions and comments.  There will also be a short general update on FSA items from David Thompson of the FSA’s communications department. 

Registration for these events is now open, for more details of these event please see the Northern Forum news item or the Southern Forum news item.

 
The FSA is holding a short (and free) public meeting on 5 September on Skilled Persons Reports.

The FSA is holding a short (and free) public meeting on the morning of 5 September covering the procedural changes being made to enable the FCA/PRA to contract directly with Skilled Persons and the practical implications this will have on the wider Skilled Person process.  For more details please click here.

Gordon Findlay of the FSA's communications department gave an update to delegates at the APCC June forums.

The update covered the following areas:

APCC survey
BRAW & Regulatory reviews
RDR
Positive compliance
Future Workshops
FCA Approach Document

The presentation slides from this update are now available to logged in users of the APCC website.

On 13 July 2012 the FSA held a briefing for legal, accountancy and consultancy firms who provide Skilled Persons reports on firms regulated by the FSA.

The briefing looked at the recent use of Skilled Persons reports, the internal FSA processes that are being developed to improve the effectiveness of the Skilled Person report, the FSA's expectations in respect of Skilled Persons reports, the lessons learnt over the last 12 months, the impact of the Financial Services Bill, how the FCA and PRA are likely to use this tool and the planned changes over the next 12 months.

A summary of this briefing plus the March briefing given by the FSA at the APCC's annual forum event and the presentation slides used at the July briefing can be accessed by logged in members of the APCC.

Representatives of the APCC Steering Council met with the FSA Permissions Department in April 2012 to discuss developments within that department and to review the working guidelines. 

Representatives of the APCC Steering Council met with the FSA Permissions Department in April 2012 to discuss developments within that department and to review the working guidelines.  The summary of the meeting and the updated guidelines are now available to logged in users of the website.

During this meeting the FSA asked that if any consultants were aware of prospective banking applicants that were jurisdiction shopping they contact James Borley at the FSA.

In addition the FSA noted that during the Olympics and ParaOlympics many of their staff would be working from home due to likely travel and other disruptions during this period.  As a result authorisation applications should be submitted both in paper and electronic form if they are to be dealt with during the extended Olympic period.  More details on this can be found here.

An interactive update for consultants on topical compliance issues.

AGENDA

1:15 - Rory Percival from the FSA  - Overview of assessing suitability; centralised investment propositions and replacement business

2:15 - Gordon Finlay from the FSA communications department on
- BRAW – update on workshops and regulatory reviews
- RDR – details of any upcoming work
- Positive Compliance workshops – what is covered and locations
- Future workshops or events
- Compliance consultants/FSA survey – more info on next survey
- Other areas to be confirmed.

3:00 - Break

3:20 - Delegate Q & A session on all regulatory compliance topics

3:40 - Russell Facer: APCC update

4:00  -Finish

This event is open to consultants from both member and non-member firms. For delegates from member and affiliate firms the fee is £40 plus VAT (£48), for all other delegates the fee is £100 plus VAT (£120).

You can book for this event by going to our online booking page for this event. Alternatively you can download and complete the registration form for this event.

An interactive update for consultants on topical compliance issues.

AGENDA

10:00 - Registration opens

10:30 - Rory Percival from the FSA  - Overview of assessing suitability; centralised investment propositions and replacement business

11:30 - Gordon Finlay from the FSA communications department on
- BRAW – update on workshops and regulatory reviews
- RDR – details of any upcoming work
- Positive Compliance workshops – what is covered and locations
- Future workshops or events
- Compliance consultants/FSA survey – more info on next survey
- Other areas to be confirmed.

12:15 - Break

12:35 - Delegate Q & A session on all regulatory compliance topics

12:55 - APCC update

13:15 - Finish

This event is open to consultants from both member and non-member firms. For delegates from member and affiliate firms the fee is £40 plus VAT (£48), for all other delegates the fee is £100 plus VAT (£120).

You can book for this event by going to our online booking page for this event. Alternatively you can download and complete the registration form for this event.

Our flagship annual event was this year held at the offices of Addleshaw Goddard, Milton Gate, 60 Chiswell Street, London EC1Y 4AG or participants could view it at their desk via webex.
 

The event included:
• presentations on topical issues by the FSA and industry speakers
• an opportunity to ask questions directly of the speakers
• networking with other professional consultants and meeting representatives of the Association

Following the close of the formal part of the event the APCC hosted a networking session at The Globe (83 Moorgate) for all delegates and speakers.

The agenda for the event included the following:

•    chairman's introduction
•    a keynote address from Mike McAteer, director of the FSA
•    Fiona Raistrick of the FSA speaking on developments in S166 reporting
•    Tom Spender of the FSA and David Ellis of Addleshaw Goddard on retail enforcement from both the FSA viewpoint and and from the lawyers who advise regulated firms
•    Russell Warwick of the Prudential speaking on retail distribution
•    John Barrass of APCIMS speaking on MiFID2 and other EU developments
•    an interactive session for delegates and the panel on topical issues for compliance consultants
•    a report from Simon Collin, chairman of the Association, on the APCC plans for 2012 and beyond
•    the 2012 annual general meeting of the Association

The chairman's presentation slides are available here.  All the presentations and audio recordings from the event, where permission has been given by the speakers, are available to logged in users of the website.

The APCC held an event on 2 February for member firms only on the FSA's Business Risk Awareness Workshops and follow up assessments. 

BUSINESS RISK AWARENESS EVENT on 2 FEBRUARY
This event was an interactive session by Grahame Hinselwood and Nick Ross of the FSA on the FSA’s Business Risk Awareness Roadshows and follow up Proactive Regulatory Review.  Grahame and Nick provided a first hand insight into the format and content of the initial stage workshops and the different types of follow up assessments and the content of these assessments.  Every small retail firm is being invited to the roadshow events and the follow up assessments so it is key that consultants are fully aware of the purpose and scope of this FSA project. 

We are very pleased that the FSA is actively looking to assist consultancy firms in helping their clients prepare for these assessments.  The event included ample opportunity for consultants to ask questions regarding the assessments and to provide feedback to them.  More details of these roadshows can be found on the FSA website.

The event took place in the Schroders Auditorium at their offices in 31 Gresham Street. Registration for the event opened at 9:30 with the event starting at 10 am, the event finished at 12:30.

The event was available to delegates from member firms only and the cost was £48 per delegate (i.e. £40 plus VAT).

The slides from this event are now available to logged in APCC members.

The APCC intends to respond to the FSA's CP following the Mortgage Market Review.  At this stage it is gathering responses from members and other interested parties.

MORTGAGE MARKET REVIEW
The mortgage market review – CP31/11 , issued on 19th December as an early Christmas present to the industry, is alleged to be the biggest consultation the FSA have published.

It is wide ranging and has significant potential impact to both lenders and intermediaries, not to mention customers who will be impacted by the proposed changes.

The APCC would like to respond to this CP and we are interested in hearing from members in this respect. We believe it is in our interests to do so and will help continue to raise our profile within the FSA.

To this extent we would appreciate responses to the following questions so we can determine the best way forward:

• Are you interested in providing feedback to the Consultation?
• If the FSA were willing to attend a meeting where we could facilitate a Q&A and provide some feedback to them would you wish to attend (probably London based)?
• If the FSA were not willing to attend would you be interested in attending an APCC session to discuss the impact and gather feedback towards our response?
• Do you want to provide the APCC with responses to any of the specific questions from the consultation but not attend a meeting? (see list of questions for completion)
• Is your interest in a) intermediaries b) lenders c) both?

We recognise that it is often difficult for a wide ranging body such as the APCC to get a consensus on every aspect but we do hope to be able to get consensus on a lot of points and can then provide a split view on the other parts. It does, however, take a great deal of time and effort to co-ordinate and draft up and the earlier we start the better.

Please send in your response to the APCC by 27th January.

We now have dates for events in 2012 so please put them in your diary, more details to follow in the New Year.

Dates for events in 2012 are below, more details will follow in the New Year.

2 February:  London - Business Risk Awareness Workshop
12 March:  London - Annual Forum
20 June:  Huddersfield - Northern Forum
19 September:  Huddersfield - Northern Forum
19 December:  Huddersfield - Northern Forum

The APCC has been working with the FSA and the ICAEW on providing guidance compliance consultants on S166 reports.

The APCC started a project back in late 2010 to prepare guidelines for consultants on the preparation of S166 reports.  The initial short form guidance covered report scoping, preparation of the fee quote, the report content, preparing the report opinion, discussing the report with the client and finally getting paid for the work.  This guidance was discussed in detail with the FSA and was near finalisation when structural change within the FSA meant that the role of the S166 report oversight team was moved to the PRA.  The PRA team had already engaged with the ICAEW to provide technical guidance to ICAEW members on producing S166 reports and the FSA then asked this to be extended to cover reports dealing with conduct risk.  As a result the APCC was invited to join the ICAEW working party for the technical guidance being produced.  Our input has made the technical guidance (which is still in draft form and not yet published) significantly more relevant to compliance consultants than it would otherwise have been. 

Once the ICAEW tehcnical guidance is published we will ensure it is available to all our members.

On 25 November the APCC held a Northern Forum in Huddersfield.  The main item for the forum was a presentation by the FSA on the Business Risk Awareness Workshops being held for every retail firm and the follow up process for these workshops.

Delegates from APCC member firms were invited to a free workshop and forum on 25 November in Huddersfield at which the main item was a presentation on the Business Risk Awareness Workshops being held for every retail firm and the follow up process for these workshops.  Nicholas Ross and Grahame Hinselwood from the FSA talked through the workshops and ran a live case study for delegates to comment on.  The presentation was very useful for both delegates and the FSA as feedback from delegates will enable the FSA to improve the case study and make it more relevant to the various different retail firm types.   Delegates at the event are now much clearer about the purpose of these workshops and the follow up actions the FSA will be taking with firms.

 
Since the early summer of 2011 the APCC has been working with the FSA to identify ONA issues and their solutions.

Consultants from APCC member firms have identified an extensive list of issues with the ONA reporting system and these have formed the basis of extensive correspondence with the FSA over how these issues should be addressed.  While it is clear that resource constraints within the FSA mean that there will be no large scale review and improvement of the ONA system in the near term nevertheless the exercise has been useful.  We will be publishing the list of issues and their workrounds shortly.

The APCC held an RDR and Platforms workshop on the afternoon of 19 October.  Rory Percival and Colin Wilcox from the FSA attended.  Rory Percival plays a leading role at FSA on the implementation of Retail Distribution Review, platform use by intermediaries and suitability of investment advice.  The purpose of the workshop was to discuss the more complex issues arising in these areas. 
This was an interactive workshop where delegates had the chance both before and during the event to raise issues and question with the FSA and to discuss them with their fellow consultants on what was and still is clearly a contentious area. 

The APCC held an RDR and Platforms workshop on the afternoon of 19 October in central London.  Rory Percival and Colin Wilcox from the FSA attended.  Rory Percival plays a leading role at FSA on the implementation of Retail Distribution Review, platform use by intermediaries and suitability of investment advice.  The purpose of the workshop was to discuss the more complex issues arising in these areas.  Delegates were asked to send in their issues so they can be raised with the FSA beforehand so they could come fully armed.  This was an interactive workshop giving delegates the chance both before and during the event to raise issues and question with the FSA and to discuss them with their fellow consultants on what is clearly a contentious area. 

A number of issues were not fully resolved during the workshop and these are being followed up with the FSA, delegates and APCC members will receive details of this correspondence as soon as it is completed.

STREAMED LIVE TO YOUR DESK
We were ablet to stream the workshop to consultant's desktop as a webinar so that they did not need to travel to London for the workshop.  Delegates who attend the workshop via the webinar were able to listen to the workshop, view the presentation and send in questions during the workshop via the Webex chat room facility.

TIMINGS AND LOCATION AND REGISTRATION DETAILS
The workshop was from 2 pm until 4 pm on 19 October and for those not using the webinar facility the workshop was at the offices of Resources Global, 117 Houndsditch, London EC3A 7BT. 

The workshop was free to delegates from member firms and £60 (£50 plus VAT) for delegates from non-members, whether delegates attended in person or via the webinar.   Delegates from non-member firms were only allowed to attend by webinar.

In August 2011 the APCC responded to the FSA's consultation on the FCA Approach to Regulation document pubished in June 2011.

The APCC held a forum on 10 August in London to get initial responses to the FCA approach document and this was followed up with a draft response which was circulated to members for their comments and further input.  Following on from this a final response was sent to the FSA on 31 August.  Click here to download the APCC response document.

The APCC is grateful to those member firms who were not on holiday during this consultation period (and to those that were) and who were able to add input to the response document.

On 15 July the APCC attended the FSA Smaller Business Practitioner Panel Trade Body Briefing.

The APCC and a number of other trade bodies met with the FSA Smaller Business Practitioner Panel on 15 July and the Panel briefed us on its activities over the last six months and its planned activities over the next 12 months.  At the end of the briefing there was a wide ranging question and answer session where delegates raised a number of issues. 

Members can access a summary of the meeting here.

On 10 August the APCC held a forum in London to discuss feedback to the FSA/FCA on the FCA Approach to Regulation June document and to ask attendees for input on the APCC's future strategy. 

Charles Meade King lead the discussion on the FCA Approach to Regulation June document and a number of issues and concerns were raised and discussed.   It was agreed that these issues would be circulated to the membership for further consultation. 



At the end there was a wide ranging discussion on the APCC's strategic direction accompanied by light refreshments.

UPDATED FSA APPLICATION PACKS
The FSA application packs have been updated, the forms that have been changed are:

The forms that have been changed are:-
• Core details and appendices.
• Supplement for Investments, Mortgages and non-investment insurance contracts and also Connected Travel Insurance.
• Supplement for Securities and Futures Firms (complex) and (non-complex).
• Supplement for Investment Management Firms.
• Supplement for Advisers and Arrangers.
• Relevant checklists and declarations.

The changes include corrections to dates, legislation and handbook references, improving consistency throughout the application forms, removing questions that were no longer relevant and adding further questions reflecting the FSA’s more intrusive approach and general developments in the marketplace e.g. TCF, Non advised sales, UCIS, Platforms, Mortgages, PPI.

The FSA is continuing to work on updating and revising the remaining less frequently used supplements.

The FSA is now asking applicant firms to complete the IT self-assessment questionnaire which is displayed on the completed “build your own application” page of the FSA website.  When completed the form indicates whether the applicant firm needs to complete a Complex IT form.  The applicant firm is required to include this completed form in its application pack. 

The FSA will continue to accept old versions of the packs until the end of December 2011 but applicant firms should expect to be asked those new/additional questions in the revised packs by case officers.

An informal APCC northern forum has been arranged for Wednesday 27th July.

The forum will start at 10 am for finish at approximately 12:30.

The agenda for the event has been left relatively loose but will include the following: 

• Future direction of the APCC
• Desires of members – i.e. benefits of membership and ideal solutions
• Engagement with other bodies, AIFA etc?
• Future industry direction – product risks / consumer engagement
• FSA engagement and recent reviews/experiences – consistency challenge
• General discussion.

If you would like to attend please email Hilary Spivey.  Spaces are limited and will be on first come first served basis.

Towergate Risk Solutions and Hiscox Insurance Company Limited have teamed up to create an enhanced professional indemnity facility for APCC members.

The competitive premiums which are available to all APCC member firms include professional indemnity, public and employer liability.  D&O cover is also available, again at competitive rates, to corporate APCC member firms.

For further information and a proposal form please e-mail charles.wintour@towergate.co.uk.

This financial promotion has been approved by Towergate Underwriting Group Limited.  Towergate Risk Solutions is a trading name of Towergate Underwriting Group Limited. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

The APCC annual forum event took place on Wednesday 9 March 2011 at the new venue for us of the Law Society in Chancery Lane.

Our annual forum event took place in London on 9 March 2011.  At this event speakers from the FSA presented on a variety of topics including a key note speech looking at major regulatory themes.  Our keynote speaker, David Geale, unfortunately fell ill at the last minute and Ian Smyth stepped in at short notice to give the speech and to answer the many questions from the floor during the forum event. 

Mukhtar Singh Rai of the Financial Ombudsman Service spoke on how the FOS comes to the decisions it does, how firms should deal (and how they should not deal) with customer complaints and FOS complaint investigations.  He also covered compensation calculations and how the FOS is consulting on improving its communication strategy with regulated firms.

Ian Hargreaves of Addleshaw Goddard gave a presentation on the Bribery Act giving guidance on how this very wide-ranging act impacts on a firm's system and controls policies, its staff training requirements and also its entertainment, expenses, commission and other payment policies.

Fiona King and Tracey Sampson briefed delegates on client assets, in particular setting out the common failings of firms in this area and their views on why these failings arise and the steps the FSA is taking to strengthen this area.

Jonathon Crook and Jeremy Irving from Evershed spoke on how firms should deal with the FSA's enforcement division and gave practical examples of how this works in practice. 

Illness again unfortunately intervened and the FSA presentation on S166 reports and suitability had to be replaced at short notice by a presentation from Tamara Cizeika of Eversheds on RDR - issues, options and next steps. 

Simon Collins, chairman of the APCC, gave a presentation on the activities of the APCC and asked delegates for their views on the proposed future direction of the APCC and the constitution of the Steering Council.  The AGM for the APCC then followed.

After the end of the formal events there was a very informal networking session for delegates and speakers hosted by the APCC in the Old Council Chamber at the Law Society.

The keynote speech and the slides used by the presenters during this event are now available from the members area of the website. 

On the morning of 22 February 2011 representatives from APCC member firms will be having a roundtable discussion with the FRC on the implementation of the UK Stewardship Code and in particular on the compliance statement that is now required to be published by all regulated asset manager firms. 

There is a very limited number of spaces currently available for this event.  If you would like to attend please email Hilary Spivey.

New items recently added to the website include:

Annual Forum Event:  Details of our forum on 9 March 2011 are now on the website.  The registration form will be available shortly but please save the day in your diary. 


Complaints Handling Workshop for Consultants:  The FSA held a workshop for consultants on complaints handling on 20 January 2011.  More details on this are available to members.


Conduct Risk Department - S166 reports:  The APCC held a meeting with the FSA on S166 reports in November 2010.  A summary of this meeting and good practice guidelines for these reports will be available to members shortly.


Authorisation department:  Service levels within this department have dropped year on year.  We have had a dialogue with the FSA on this since Q4 2009 and a workshop with the FSA on July 8 where consultants expressed their concerns.  We had a follow up meeting in September with the FSA as a result of which working practice guidelines are now available to consultants.

Promotion of Unregulated Collective Investment Schemes: The FSA uncovered clear examples of abuse in this area and a lack of understanding by retail financial advisors of their responsibility to clients.  The FSA held a workshop for consultants on 24 September setting out their views on this and we are following this up by collating queries and FSA responses.

The event was aimed at consultants who carry out assessments of the quality of regulated firms handling of complaints. At the event the FSA set out its findings on regulated firm's complaints handling procedures and how it plans to deal with this area going forward. Consultants were able to ask questions and raise specific issues with the FSA on this subject.

A summary of the event, the presentation slides and the questions and answers session are available to members.