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6th September 2017 Dear PIMFA member PIMFA Bulletin is a fortnightly e-newsletter delivering a snapshot of the latest news and current affairs from within the industry and PIMFA*. Download the PDF version here. *APFA and WMA merged to become PIMFA (the Personal Investment Management & Financial Advice Association) on 1st June.
WHAT IS PIMFA WORKING ON? Andy Thompson After 19 years working for what was once APCIMS, WMA and now PIMFA, Andy Thompson is leaving to become a history teacher. After being on the receiving end of patient coaching and tutorials on the various aspects of the workings of our sector, I am sure you will agree with me that he will make a great teacher! We wish him much success in his new career and he leaves with our very best wishes and thanks. Kevin Sloane will be taking over from Andy and will be known to many of you and brings a great deal of expertise to the role. You can contact Kevin at kevins@pimfa.co.uk.
Consultation on Pension Scams In the recent consultation response document on pension scams, the Government confirmed its plans to introduce new measures to protect private pension savers from unscrupulous pension scammers. These will include a cold-calling ban, which will apply to e-mails and text
messages and will be enforced by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). There will also be a tightening of HMRC rules to stop scammers opening fraudulent pension schemes and tougher actions to prevent the transfer of money from occupational pension schemes into fraudulent ones. No date has yet been set for implementation.
MiFID II - Contingency Plans Firms must have contingency plans if the required MiFID II permissions are not in place by 3rd January 2018. Firms who still need to apply for authorisation or variation of permission should prioritise this as a matter of urgency. The FCA has indicated in their second policy statement (PS 17/4) that it cannot guarantee that any application received after 3rd July 2017 will be determined by 3rd January 2018. Such firms must have contingency plans in place in the event that by 3rd January 2018 they do not have the required permissions.
Action Needed to Retain Independence Status The FCA will be including structured deposits within the overarching independence rule in order to give effect to MiFID’s obligations. Therefore in order to maintain independent status, firms will need to add this investment type to their relevant Part 4A Permissions. Firms that already hold one or more of the following permissions need to notify the FCA before 3rd January 2018 to add structured deposits to their permissions: • dealing in investments as agent • arranging deals in investments • making arrangements with a view to transactions in investments • managing investments • advising on investments Firms that do not currently hold these permissions, but wish to carry out one or more of the regulated activities above in relation to structured deposits, will need to submit a Variation of Permission.
The FCA’s structured deposit notification is now open. Firms should therefore notify the FCA as soon as possible and in any event before 3rd January 2018.
New Members We are delighted to welcome The Intercontinental Exchange (Data Services) and Hannay Robertson Financial Planning to the Association.
Recent Asset Allocation Changes In response to quarterly surveys submitted by PIMFA member firms regarding the asset allocation to the Conservative, Income, Growth, Balanced and Global Growth portfolios, the Private Investor Indices Committee has made the following changes to the MSCI WMA Private Investor Index Series, which came into effect from 1st September 2017. Current asset allocation is available here.
Fund Trading and Settlement Initiative: Additional Fund Survey The Fund Trading and Settlement (FTS) project is seeking further input from industry to support the design of options that will reduce costs, complexity and risk.
The FTS Fund Trading Working Group, on which PIMFA is represented, undertook a trading survey earlier in 2017 which demonstrated the general appetite to move to ISO 20022 as the single standard for fund trading, to deliver increased interoperability, enhanced business continuity and to address the issue of liability for nonmessage delivery. The Working Group wish to conduct a further short survey that will help them understand the current landscape and to determine what would be required to help facilitate a transition to the desired end state. Responses will be treated confidentially and will be restricted to representatives of the ABI, IA, PIMFA, TISA and the UK Platform Group plus Phil Hine - FTS Chair, Charles McCready – Programme Director and Linda Lee – Project Office. Outputs will be anonymised to protect any sensitive information. Completed responses to the survey should be returned to linda.lee@tisa.uk.com by no later than 11th September.
Please complete the survey; the Working Group would really value input from the private investment management and financial adviser community.
WHAT'S COMING UP IN PIMFA? PIMFA CPD Seminar - China Share Class Alphabet When: 18th September 2017, 08:30 to 10:00 Where: BlackRock, Drapers Gardens, 12 Throgmorton Avenue, London EC2N 2DL CPD hrs: 1 Tickets: Free for PIMFA Members
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This breakfast seminar will cover Emerging Markets, with a focus on China. Research experts from MSCI and Blackrock will highlight the new China A shares in the MSCI Emerging Market Index and what the possible impact may be for investors.
PIMFA Women in Wealth Forum When: 4th October 2017, 09:00 to 13:00 Where: RBS, 250 Bishopsgate, London EC2M 4AA CPD hrs: 3.5 Tickets: Free for PIMFA Members Our final PIMFA ‘Women in Wealth’ event for 2017 brings together colleagues from across the industry for peer-to-peer debate, networking and inspiration. Speakers for the event are:
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Sarah Pennells, Personal finance journalist, Broadcaster, Author and creator of Savvywoman.co.uk
Jan Carrington, Personal Branding and Impact Consultant, J C Corporate and Personal Image Consultancy
Jules Chappell OBE, Partner, Hawthorn Advisors
Jane Sydenham, Investment Director, Rathbone
PIMFA Annual Summit When: 8th November 2017, 09:00 - 20:00 Where: The Grange Hotel Tower Bridge, 45 Prescot Street, London E1 8GP CPD hrs: 6 Tickets: ÂŁ349 +VAT (Members), ÂŁ699 +VAT (Non Members) Group Discount: For discount on group member ticket rate, please click here Closing speaker announced: Lord Michael Dobbs, best-selling author of
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House of Cards which has been successfully adapted for TV in both the UK and US; the latter still running on Netflix, featuring Kevin Spacey. View the full agenda here. To find out more or book now to reserve your place.
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For more information on many of the articles above visit the PIMFA website. If you have queries you can also contact the relevant PIMFA Staff Member. If you are unsure of your PIMFA log in details, please contact us at enquiries@pimfa.co.uk.
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