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PIMFA Fortnightly News Bulletin - 13th November 2019 Welcome to the PIMFA Bulletin, our fortnightly e-newsletter delivering a snapshot of the latest news and current affairs from within PIMFA and the industry.
What is PIMFA working on? New PIMFA Member Firm We are delighted to welcome a new member to PIMFA: - Schroders Personal Wealth – Wealth Manager
We look forward to working with you.
PIMFA Parliament Day 2020 As you may be aware, PIMFA will be taking up residence in Parliament on 23 January 2020 in order to raise the profile of this profession and build lasting relationships with the new intake of MPs following the forthcoming General Election. We are particularly keen to represent the country as a whole. If you would like to
get involved in lobbying your local MP, please get in contact at westminster@pimfa.co.uk
PIMFA's new Useful Guide: "Sustainable Finance - PIMFA's A to Z Guide 2019" With interest in sustainable finance markedly on the rise, PIMFA has launched it's new Guide to help promote a wider appreciation of what is involved in the process.
Containing a broad glossary of terms and their definitions, this Guide will give a greater understanding of both the language used in this sector and the principles underpinning it.
This is one of a number of Useful Guides available to members, all of which can be found in the members only area here.
Sustainable Finance - two new regulations On 8 November 2019 the European Council adopted two regulations aiming at making finance greener and bringing it more in line with the objectives of the Paris agreement on climate change. The first reform introduces disclosure obligations on how financial companies integrate environmental, social and governance factors in their investment decisions. The second reform creates new types of benchmarks aimed at giving greater information on an investment portfolio's carbon footprint: the EU climate transition benchmarks, which aim to lower the carbon footprint of a standard investment portfolio, and the EU Paris-aligned benchmarks, which have the more ambitious goal to select only components that contribute to attaining the 2°C reduction set out in the Paris climate agreement. The texts will be signed by the European Parliament’s Plenary in Strasbourg in the week of 25 November and will then be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.
Duty of Care Bill On the 29th October 2019, the Financial Services Duty of Care Bill had its first reading in the House of Lords. The Bill seeks to insert a new section into the
Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA), which will give the FCA power to make general rules including the power to introduce a duty of care owed by authorised persons to consumers in carrying out regulated activities under FSMA. Duty of care is defined as “an obligation to exercise reasonable care and skill when providing a product or a service”. A date for the second reading has yet to be announced.
New prudential requirements for investment firms This new package of measures, adopted by the European Council on 8 November and consisting of a regulation and a directive, sets out new prudential requirements and supervisory arrangements for investment firms.
The reform adapts the requirements to the firms' risk profiles and business models whilst preserving financial stability. The largest firms (class 1) that are considered systemic will be subject to the full banking prudential regime (CRD/CRR) and will be supervised as credit institutions. Large but non-systemic (class 2) firms will have to comply with a more limited set of prudential requirements when they exceed certain thresholds (for balance sheet, client orders handled, assets under management, etc). Smaller firms with non-interconnected services (class 3), that do not exceed the thresholds, will enjoy a simpler and more streamlined prudential requirements. The texts will be signed by the European Parliament’s Plenary in Strasbourg in the week of 25 November and will then be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.
PIMFA Operational Resilience Working Group The second meeting of the PIMFA Operational Resilience Working Group will take place at 15:00 on Wednesday 20 November at PIMFA’s office. The purpose of this meeting is to review firms’ critical business services and to look at setting impact tolerances for each service. If you would be interested in attending this working group meeting, either in person or via the conference call, please contact Kevin Sloane.
If you missed the first Operational Resilience Working Group meeting and would like a copy of the meeting notes and presentation slide deck, please contact Kevin Sloane.
PIMFA's 2019 Financial Adviser Report due next week This year’s Financial Adviser report - the seventh in the series - shows how firms have adapted and survived during a sometimes difficult period. The bedding down of multiple regulations, the approaching SM&CR and pressure on fees have all had an effect on the advisers’ ability to maintain a cost effective service, whilst Brexit and a volatile equities market, as exemplified by the Woodford scenario, have hardly helped.
The 2019 Report shows that there is little change in the types of advice firm from last year, with appointed representatives and directly authorised advisers both remaining more or less numerically constant. However, the average numbers of staff available to advise clients has reached a 7yr high with an average of 5 members of staff per firm, demonstrating how the industry views the importance of client interaction and quality of service, even during difficult times.
For more information, please contact Johnson Afilaka
White-listing the PIMFA domains to ensure all our emails reach you Please ask your IT teams to white-list our domains - pimfa.co.uk and pimfa.uk – this will ensure that PIMFA communications are not blocked and that you don’t miss out on your free member benefits such as webinars, podcasts, Update, newsletters, CEO updates, technical useful guides, event invitations and more. If you have any questions, please email us at enquiries@pimfa.co.uk and we will be happy to help.
Latest PIMFA Press Releases
PIMFA Calls for the Regulator to Raise The Bar
Sustainability, Diversity and Wellbeing Highlighted As Key Topics at PIMFA Summit
PIMFA Announces Strategic Partnership with Investor Meet Company
PIMFA Annual Summit Addresses Key Areas for Evolution and Innovation in Financial Services
PIMFA Women in Wealth Forum Encourages Culture Changes to Help Improve Gender Equality in Finance
Read all of PIMFA's Press Releases
Latest PIMFA Consultation Responses
PIMFA’s response to Law Commission Intermediated Securities - Call for Evidence
PIMFA response to Pension transfer advice: contingent charging and other proposed changes
PIMFA’s response to Guidance Consultation 19/3: Guidance for firms on the fair treatment of vulnerable customers
ESMA Call for Evidence:Inducements and Costs and Charges: Disclosure Requirements under MiFID II
FCA CP 19/20 - Our Framework – Assessing Adequate Financial Resources
Read all of PIMFA's Consultation Papers
What's coming up in PIMFA?
PIMFA LEARNING PIMFA's Autumn Webinars We are currently running a series of FREE webinars. The next, supporting members in their preparations for SM&CR, is: SM&CR: Training and Competence, what you really should know, 27th November, 2019
In this FREE 60 min. webinar, we discuss with T&C experts how firms, post SMCR can review and improve their approach to Training and Competency (T&C) to avoid not only falling foul of the regulator but ensure that you have the confidence that you have the right people to do the job. To register for FREE click here.
For a full list of upcoming webinars, please click here. *If you are registering for a PIMFA account for the first time, please allow 48 hours to authenticate your details, process bookings and receive your webinar link*
PIMFA Associate Members Briefing & Drinks Reception Monday 25th November 2019, 17:30 – 19:30 Farrer & Co, London, 20-23 Lincoln’s Inn Fields – London WC2A 3ED On November 25th we will be hosting our last 2019 Associate Members Briefing. Exclusively designed for PIMFA Associate Members, this event is a forum for attendees to learn about the issues currently impacting on the UK Investment Management & Financial Advice industry. It will explore topics such as regulation, operations, policy and financial crime, providing an opportunity to discuss with PIMFA staff specific issues important to the membership.
This event is free to members.
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Financial Adviser Forum 22nd January, 2020 - 13:30 – 20:00 Farrer & Co – 20-23 Lincoln’s Inn Fields – London WC2A 3ED On Wednesday 22 January PIMFA will host the 2020 Annual Financial Adviser Forum. Our Forum begins at Farrer & Co with an afternoon of education and CPD, ending the day with a drinks reception at the House of Lords. Topics on the day will include:
Retirement – How do Financial Planning Build a Client Friendly Proposition for the Future?
Managing Risks in Challenging Economic Environments
Client Communications – How to Drive Better Understanding
The How to Guide to Acquisitions
Later Life Advice – Preparing for Care, IHT, Intergenerational Wealth Transfer
The educational forum will be followed by a drinks reception at the House of Lords.
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Financial Crime Conference February 4 2020 - 08:30 – 17:00 London, TBA Join us at the PIMFA Financial Crime Conference 2020 and access leading industry debate from professionals across the regulatory, law enforcement and cyber security space. As the financial crime landscape evolves with new techniques and technologies, the
growing threat to firms and their clients is undeniable. Hear from speakers such as Damon Batten, Managing Consultant Head of Markets at Bovill and Alison Barker, Director of Specialist Supervision at the FCA on topics including: • •
Money
Laundering
for
Wealth
Managers
How is the Industry Utilizing Technology to Combat Financial Crime?
•
Regulatory
Update
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What's happening in our industry Latest news from the Financial Conduct Authority 22 years of pension savings gone in 24 hours Victims of pensions scams could lose 22 years’ worth of savings within 24 hours, according to the FCA and The Pensions Regulator (TPR). New analysis as part of the regulators’ joint ScamSmart campaign reveals that it could take 22 years for a saver to build a pension pot of £82,000 – the average amount victims lost to scams in 2018. But despite this, many savers could be at risk of falling for scammers tactics within 24 hours. New research reveals that almost 1 in 4 people (24%) surveyed, admitted to taking 24 hours or less to decide on a pension offer.
Worryingly, overconfidence could also lead to savers missing the signs of a scam. Despite nearly two-thirds (63%) saying they are confident making decisions about their pension, the same proportion (63%) would trust someone offering pensions advice out of the blue – one of the main warning signs of a scam.
Further still, the more highly educated the person, the more likely they are to fall for
a pension scam. Those with a university degree are 40% more likely to accept a free pension review from a company they’ve not dealt with before, and 21% more likely to take up the offer of early access to their pension pot. Both common scam tactics.
To read the FCA's full Press Release, please click here. Members can direct their clients to our Investment Fraud (https://www.pimfa.co.uk/managing-your-money/investment-fraud/) and Boiler Room Scams (https://www.pimfa.co.uk/managing-your-money/boiler-roomscams/) webpages which are full of useful information on how they can spot, avoid and report scams.
New appointments to Financial Conduct Authority board announced
Three new appointments to the board of the FCA have been made by the Economic Secretary to the Treasury today.
Liam Coleman, Alice Maynard CBE and Tommaso Valletti will take up roles as NonExecutive Directors to the board of the FCA. Alice Maynard was jointly appointed by HM Treasury and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. They will each serve 3-year terms beginning today, 5 November 2019.
The Economic Secretary to the Treasury, John Glen, said: 'The FCA has a vital role in ensuring our financial sector keeps people safe and that firms put customers at the heart of their decisions. So, I am delighted to announce these new appointments to the FCA Board. Their wealth of experience and expertise will be incredibly valuable to the crucial work of the regulator.'
For more information, please click here.
Latest Industry Events
MoneyWeek Wealth Summit Friday 22nd November 2019 etc.venues St Paul’s, 200 Aldersgate, London, EC1A 4HD The event will be hosted by MoneyWeek editor-in-chief, Merryn Somerset Webb, along with executive editor John Stepek and the editorial team, and focus on “The future of wealth: growth and protection". We'll be discussing everything from the impact of political turbulence on your portfolio, to the most exciting technology investment themes, to the future of our increasingly topsy-turvy monetary system. We’ll also be looking at both how to grow and how to protect your wealth against an increasingly complicated political and economic backdrop.
Confirmed speakers already include: •
James Anderson, co-manager of the extremely successful Scottish Mortgage Trust; •
British tycoon and longevity investor Jim Mellon; •
•
Financial historian and analyst Russell Napier;
Andy Haldane, the Bank of England's chief economist; Former pensions minister Sir Steve Webb; •
plus Dame Helena Morrissey.
https://moneyweekwealthsummit.co.uk/
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View all the latest industry events on our website here If your firm has an event which you would like to post on this area, please click here to submit it.
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