Fortnightly wma bulletin 17th may 1

WMA Bulletin 17th May 2016

WMA Bulletin is a fortnightly snapshot delivering the latest news and current affairs from within the wealth management industry and WMA. Download the PDF version here.

What's going on in our industry?

HMRC set to extend due diligence deadlines under FATCA and Crown Dependencies Agreements HMRC will shortly be publishing a formal note to confirm that where Financial Institutions (FIs) have until 30th June 2016 to complete due diligence checks, HMRC will allow an extension of the time limit to 31st December 2016 without taking any action for failure to carry out due diligence. This could apply to pre-existing entity accounts and low value individual accounts where FIs had 2 years from 30th June 2014 to apply the relevant due diligence checks.

FCA and the FSCS We have held a preliminary meeting with the FCA team responsible for the model funding review. Further meetings with other trade associations are planned towards the end of this month.

What's WMA up to?

Prospectus Regulation Work on the new Prospectus Regulation is speeding up in Brussels with key Council and

European Parliament (EP) meetings in May. The Council is arguing to retain the €100,000 bond denomination threshold against the Commission’s Proposal, based on the WMA input, to abolish it. The Parliament is favouring abolition but maintaining wholesale and retail market segregation. We and the Commission had argued for a unified market. After several detailed discussions WMA has now proposed the Qualified Investor (QI) approach as a compromise, which separates the markets without using a threshold and is closer to the EP position than the others. A paper to this effect has been sent to the Brussels authorities and will be followed up with meetings this week.

PRIIPS information WMA members can now access a dedicated PRIIPs section of the website under 'Policy Support - UK Regulation'. This is to ensure members are fully aware of the ongoing developments of the impending piece of legislation, how it relates to MiFID II and its impact on the wealth management community as a whole. You can view the section here.

MiFID II Working parties created from the WMA membership have reconvened on Costs and Charges

and Product Governance and we are grateful for the attendees input, which will help us prepare our ‘bible’ on the respective topics. We are working closely with the IA on these issues where there is an interaction between providers and distributors or cost details are required from providers. MIFIR to obtain a Legal Entity Identifier (LEI). We will advise member firms as soon as FCA finalise and publish their LEI information.

Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) Having consulted with members of the LEI User Group, WMA has sent back revised wording to the FCA, which FCA intends to put on its website in respect of the requirement under

WMA Operations Committee The WMA Operations Committee met on 5th May 2016 and heard from some of the members on their recent FCA CASS visit experiences. The Committee also discussed with Euroclear and Capita Registrars the forthcoming consultation on “electronic election entitlements” (formerly known as interim securities and issued where there is a distribution with options), which should be published in the next couple of months. The key concern for WMA firms was to ensure such entitlements were not required to be reconciled under CASS.

Digital Economy WMA has participated with a number of firms and associations in discussions to set up an

open standard digital ID for consumers of financial services, especially with regard to meeting ID & Verification, Know Your Customer, and Anti-Money Laundering requirements. The work is in its early days and these were initial talks, but it will go ahead and we will report on progress as detailed proposals and actions emerge.

WMA Investment Conference On the 28th April, the WMA held its annual Investment Conference at the Cass Business School. The event made for an exciting day of candid discussion and networking, gathering some of the top industry professionals. Presentations from the event are available through the members only area on the website here. Thank you to our delegates, speakers and sponsors who made the event a great success.

What's coming up in our industry?

Pensions Dashboard Event The Association of British Insurers (ABI) and the Money Advice Service (MAS) are launching the Pension Finder Alpha project’s White Paper. This free event will mark the culmination of effort from a cross-industry working group exploring the components needed to create the Government’s vision of a Pensions Dashboard by 2019. The event will also give attendees the opportunity to hear about the project’s findings and recommendations. To view details and book a place please click here.

HMRC Event: Impact of the Common Reporting Standard on Charities HMRC’s Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) team will be running an educational event aimed at charities and their advisers who are affected by AEOI reporting. The event will take place in London on 29th June and include speakers from HMRC and charity representatives, and small group discussions on due diligence best practice (further details will follow shortly).

WMA visit to Dublin: ICMA Conference and Private Banking Working Group WMA will visit Dublin on 19th and 20th May for the International Capital Markets Association (ICMA) Annual Conference and meeting of the Private Banking Working Group, which brings together WMA with a number of Swiss private banks and wealth managers. The aim is to explore with Swiss private bank representatives whether we share common interests in regulatory and market developments and can combine forces to influence them in appropriate directions.

Interested in hosting an intern?

EUSA, an organisation providing students from top-ranked US universities, currently provide interns to the WMA and are extending the offer to WMA members. While offering exposure to the professional world, participating organisations enjoy the benefit of hosting bright, motivated and flexible students for short-term placements sponsored by EUSA.

Students come from a wide-range of fields including finance: business, law, marketing to name a few. Interns are available for 4-12 week periods each academic term.

If your firm would be interested in hosting an intern please contact Kate Duffy or for more information visit www.eusainternships.org.

What's coming up in WMA? Dormant Assets Commission As flagged in the last WMA Bulletin, WMA has been in discussions with Susan Sternglass Noble from the Dormant Assets Commission. Susan and other representatives involved in the work of the Commission will be attending the WMA Retail Markets Committee meeting on 18th May 2016. Part of that discussion will focus on the Commission’s “call for evidence” as they seek to assess the amount of dormant assets that may be in existence.

WMA visit to Brussels: Regulatory Assessment The WMA will visit Brussels on 17th May for the Public Hearing on the outcome of the Commission’s work on assessing the impact of regulation on the EU financial sector. We will at that time have meetings with MEPs and Council representatives about the Prospectus Regulation.

WMA CPD Seminar: Dividend Strategies in Times of Uncertainty Jersey, 18th May

Viktor Nossek, Director of Research at WisdomTree Europe, will discuss how investors can source yield and quality growth amidst China's struggle to rebalance its economy and souring global risk sentiment, as well as identify potentially attractive asset classes and the risk/return trade-off that must be taken into account. Book your free place here.

For more information on many of the articles above visit the WMA Members Area of our website.

If you have queries you can also contact the relevant WMA Staff Member.

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