Customer vulnerability remains a vital topic in our industry and following our 600-person strong event with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) last month we are committed to supporting members with both advocacy and practical assistance.
With this in mind, we have a plethora of resources available in the form of our 160-page guide, our new podcast, learning programs, working groups, session recording from the event, and a dedicated microsite full of useful materials and much more.
In this free podcast, PIMFA's Director of Government Relations and Policy, David Ostojitsch and Alex Roberts, PIMFA's Head of Regulatory Policy and Compliance, discuss the importance of addressing customer vulnerability in the financial services sector.
They explore PIMFA’s newly launched ‘Customer Vulnerability Guide’, the role of the FCA, the challenges firms face in identifying customers with vulnerable characteristics, and the significance of creating a supportive culture within organisations. The conversation also highlights the potential of technology in identifying vulnerabilities and provides resources for firms to enhance their practices. The Future of FinTech Adoption in our Industry: Your Opinion Matters
Technology and innovations are driving changes at pace in both the way we do business and our interactions with our existing and potential clients. PIMFA WealthTech wants to delve further into your thoughts and opinions on how technology and digitalisation is adopted into our industry so it can provide meaningful support for firms via TechSprints, thought-leadership and practical application of software solutions and more.
Please share your expertise and opinions with us in this quick 5 minute survey which will help inform the focus of PIMFA WealthTech and direct our future work so we can help you to identify and capitalise on valuable opportunities, and deal with challenges directly impacting you.
Recently PIMFA WealthTech has already delivered two TechSprints and resulting insight papers on topics such as Client Analytics, Client Onboarding and ESG, and we want to deliver even more.
Please help us to help you by completing this SURVEY.
Please note your responses will be treated in strict confidence and will be anonymised for the purpose of aggregating data and the closing date for submissions is Monday 9 December 2024.
If you want to know more about the work of PIMFA WealthTech or have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact us.
PIMFA Regulatory Forum
Recording from Tuesday 26 November
The November Regulatory Forum has now been posted on the PIMFA website here.
The recording includes:
• Mansion House Overview
• FCA Enforcement Proposals Update
• FCA Dear CEO letter for SIPP Operators
• HM Treasury (HMT) Consultation on Inheritance Tax on Pensions
• HMT Consultation on UK Green Taxonomy
• HMT Consultation Response on Future Regulatory Regime for ESG Ratings Providers
• Financial Reporting Council Consultation on Updates to UK Stewardship Code
• T+1 settlement, transaction reporting, FSCS November Outlook
If you are from a PIMFA member or associate firm and would like to be added to the distribution list to attend the next Regulatory Forum on 29 January 2025 from 15:0016:00, please contact Heidi Bryant.
FCA Statement on Forbearance in Relation to Investment Trust Disclosure Requirements
The FCA has issued a statement setting out forbearance measures given the Government’s intention to exclude some investment trusts from the Packaged retail and insurance-based investment products (PRIIPs) Regulation and other assimilated law.
On 22 November 2024 new legislation came into force excluding closed-ended investment companies from the assimilated PRIIPs regulatory framework and modifying the application of relevant disclosure requirements under MiFID. This legislative intervention supersedes their statement, which has ceased to apply.
Based on concerns highlighted by industry representatives about the operation of current costs disclosure requirements under assimilated law, and how it is affecting the closed-ended listed investment fund sector, the Government has decided to take more immediate steps:
• The FCA are immediately applying new regulatory forbearance to provide certainty for firms ahead of the statutory instrument taking effect.
• Closed-ended investment funds whose ordinary shares (of each class if there is more than one) are admitted to trading on a UK regulated market or a UK multilateral trading facility may choose not to follow the requirements of the PRIIPs Regulation and associated technical standards.
• The FCA confirm that they will not take supervisory or enforcement action if a fund chooses not to follow those requirements.
• The forbearance will apply until the Government’s statutory instrument to exclude closed-ended UK-listed investment funds from the PRIIPs Regulation and MiFID Org Regulation takes effect.
FCA CP 24-2 (part 2) 'Greater Transparency: Our Enforcement Investigations'
The FCA has published part two of their consultation (CP24/2): Greater transparency of our enforcement investigations, in response to feedback this further consultation includes significant changes to the initial proposals:
• The impact of an announcement on the relevant firm would form part of the public interest test and be central to consideration of whether to announce an investigation and name the firm.
• Giving firms 10 business days' notice of an announcement, with a further 2 days' notice if, following this, it is decided to announce.
• The potential for an announcement to seriously disrupt public confidence in the financial system or the market should be a new factor in the public interest test.
• The FCA will not make proactive announcements of investigations that are on-going when the proposals come into effect.
The board will decide on the proposals in the first quarter of 2025 and the FCA welcome feedback on these revised proposals – the deadline for responses is 17 February 2025.
Read the second consultation paper here.
PIMFA will consider the revised proposals and submit a response on behalf of members. Firms who would like to feed in their views are asked to contact Alex Roberts
FCA Crypto Road Map
The FCA has published a crypto roadmap alongside a blog and its latest research on consumer attitudes and behaviours towards crypto-assets, noting that ownership is continuing to rise with 12% of UK adults now owning crypto-assets, up from 10% in previous findings.
The FCA’s findings highlight the need for clear regulation that supports a safe, competitive, and sustainable crypto-asset sector in the UK. The blog outlines key areas in consideration of how the FCA approaches regulating specific areas of cryptoassets.
The FCA crypto roadmap can be found here.
Read the FCA blog here.
FCA CP 24-4 'The MiFID Organisational Regulation'
The FCA has launched a consultation with proposals to transfer the firm-facing requirements of the MiFID Org Reg into FCA Handbook rules in which they propose:
• To retain the current substance of the requirements, providing continuity for firms
• Have included a discussion chapter about further reform to make the rules better suited to the range of UK authorised firms and clients they provide services to:
o including circumstances where the Consumer Duty does not apply
o consider how the FCA could rationalise or improve MiFID II derived conduct and organisational rules, including for Article 3 firms
o discuss whether and how the client categorisation rules could work more effectively
The deadline for responses to the consultation paper is 28 February 2025 and the deadline for submitting comments on Chapter 4 is 28 March 2025
Read the consultation here.
FCA Inclusive Growth 'Laying Foundations, Grasping Innovations' Speech
The FCA has published a speech by Sarah Pritchard (Executive Director of Supervision, Policy and CompetitionMarkets and Executive Director, International) and key points included:
• The FCA welcoming the Government’s focus on financial inclusion
• That improved financial inclusion and resilience can accelerate growth
• Technological innovation, when well-managed, will play a key role
• Consumer resilience will be a key focus in the FCA’s next 5 Year Strategy.
You read the full speech here.
FCA Speech 'Setting the Foundations for Our Future Strategy'
The FCA has published a speech from Emily Shepperd, their Chief Operating Officer setting out the four main themes of their five year strategy, namely:
• Becoming a more efficient and effective regulator
• Tackling financial crime
• Building consumer resilience
• Supporting economic growth and innovation
The COO said the FCA aim to pursue growth, alongside ensuring proportionality in regulation and encouraging innovation and note the need to consider the appropriate risk appetite in the sector. The strategy also considers reducing the cost of regulation and facilitating investment in the economy.
Read the full speech here
PRESS RELEASES
PIMFA delighted to welcome two new members to its Board of Directors
Budget changes will be hard felt by retail investors and the Government must now prioritise stability to build investor confidence
Daily Mirror: UK finance watchdog waters down 'name and shame' plans after backlash
The Independent: UK finance watchdog softens 'name and shame' plans after City pressure
Citywire: Advice firms 'nervously' await FCA's ongoing service review
PIMFA welcomes 600 professionals at launch of customer vulnerability guide
PIMFA LEARNING AND EVENTS
NEW FOR 28 JANUARY 2025
Live Online
£850 - £1050
PIMFA Learning: The SMF Regulatory Briefing Programme 2025 – All You Need to Know About Everything That Matters Most
PIMFA’s new 12-month Senior Managers
Function (SMF) Regulatory Briefing Programme supports SMF holders in learning everything they need to know about the issues that matter most to them. It also prepares
Join us at the offices of Shoosmiths in London, for our our annual one-day financial crime conference exclusively for compliance experts, financial crime specialists, and financial advisers. READ MORE
26 FEBRUARY 2025
Live Event and Online| 10:00 - 17:00
£250 - £600
PIMFA Financial Crime Conference 2025
prospective SMF holders for the highest level of leadership.
The programme consists of a series of monthly live, online one-hour sessions on critical compliance, risk and financial crime challenges, enabling SMFs to:
• Keep up to date with the latest regulatory trends and initiatives
• Demonstrate their commitment to regulatory proficiency
• Access the training at a convenient time, through our on-demand learning platform
• Document CPD activity as required
• Highlights and key outcomes
By enrolling on this Programme SMFs will be able to:
• Evidence to the FCA their in-role competency and capability required under SMCR.
• Rapidly assess the firm’s compliance exposure and vulnerabilities.
• Get ahead and make sense of a broad, complex, and ever-evolving regulatory and compliance landscape.
• Set priorities to develop a proactive regulatory change management programme.
• Lead your firm on how best to mitigate risks, create a firm-wide compliance culture, make sound decisions, and build resilience across the business.
The world is changing quickly and the pace of criminal activity and threat actors targeting our sector has not slowed.
This event will be dedicated towards giving attendees the information they need to protect themselves and their clients to stay ahead of those with malicious and harmful intent.
The day will feature headline updates from the industry including:
• Keynote speech from the FCA on regulatory priorities for 2025 in the FinCrime space
• Keynote address from the Homeland Security Group at the Home Office, on the latest updates to the ongoing Economic Crime Plan 2
• Special session from the National Economic Crime Command (NECC) at the National Crime Agency (NCA) on SARS
• Legal update on what firms need to know within fraud and regulatory for 2025, featuring hosts Shoosmiths LLP
Book your early-bird tickets here.
• Improve their strategic thinking and ability to respond to regulatory change effectively.
• Explore with peers the latest research and best practices for managing risk to safeguard enterprise value.
Click here for more information and booking.
BOOK NOW
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