The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) of UK is planning to extend its rules on complaints reporting to ensure advisors who recommend securities and derivatives meet the same reporting standards as retail investment advisors.
In a consultation paper the FCA proposed to widen its complaints reporting procedure to non-retail products when they have been sold by a retail investment advisors.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Access deeper industry intelligence
Experience unmatched clarity with a single platform that combines unique data, AI, and human expertise.
The regulator would then receive information from securities, derivatives, retail investment products and Friendly Society tax-exempt policies.
In practice, the FCA admitted certain activities, such as advising on securities and/or derivatives that are not classified as retail investments are not captured by the current set of reporting rules.
In addition the term ‘retail investment activities’ stated in the current reporting requirements does not include two aspects of the definition of retail investment products, introduced as part of the RDR rules.
The regulator said it is increasingly relying on more data to intervene earlier and make "quicker, bolder decisions". Complaints reporting data will be used to monitor individual advisers at the point they gain regulatory approval, when advisors move to new firms and an ongoing basis.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalData"Adjusting the rules to refer to activities carried out when acting as a retail investment advisors will align the scope of all the RDR professionalism rules to the same individuals and the activities they carry out," the FCA added.
"This will ensure advisors are subject to the same standards and scrutiny, for example, if they advise on collective investment schemes or on shares or derivatives."
