WMA Bulletin 31st May 2016
What's going on in our industry? HMRC Offshore Account Notification Requirement Information about this requirement for a one-off notification to clients in respect of offshore accounts has been included in recent editions of WMA Update. The original intention was for the requirement to take effect from 30th June 2016 but on 26th May HMRC confirmed that due to delays in publishing guidance, the Regulations will not come into force on 30th June as previously expected. There is as yet no revised date, but it is expected to be later in the summer. The period to comply with the Regulations will similarly be pushed out from 30th April 2017. Again this date is yet to be confirmed. Further updates will be provided to members as soon as available.
CSD Regulation: Euroclear Guide on Client Impacts Euroclear have published a useful guide on the key impacts of the CSD Regulation on Euroclear’s clients. A summary of some of the key impacts on member firms was also included in the March 2016 edition of WMA Update.
Pensions Dashboard: Pension Finder White Paper Launch On 26th May 2016 the Pension Finder Alpha project’s White Paper, “Creating a Pensions Dashboard” was published. This follows work between Government and stakeholders from across industry with a view to achieving the Government’s vision of creating a Pensions Dashboard by 2019. Anyone interested in a copy of the White Paper can contact Andy Thompson.
FSCS A series of discussions between Trade Associations and FCA is about to commence. We expect these meetings will continue over a number of months and any relevant information will be passed on to members in WMA Update.
Consultation on Gilt and Treasury Bill Reference Prices In January 2015 the UK Debt Management Office announced that it was to withdraw from the provision of end-of-day reference prices for gilts and Treasury Bills. In late 2015 an independent review was conducted into successor arrangements and this consultation paper will help inform how to take that forward and the roadmap to do so. Anyone interested in finding out more about the review and the consultation can do so at http://www.dmo.gov.uk/.
Investment Industry calls for input on Improving Fund Trading and Settlement On 26th May a project entitled 'UK Fund Trading and Settlement' was launched to engage with suppliers and to change the way that UK-administered mutual funds are traded and settled. A Request for Information is expected to be issued in early June 2016. WMA are involved in the project along with other relevant trade bodies and a number of practitioners. Further information can be obtained from the press release.
MiFID II - FCA Trade Association meeting WMA attended the above meeting held on 26th May 2016 and FCA will publish the minutes on their website in due course.
What is WMA up to?
Blockchain Insight Series On 26th May WMA held the latest in our “Insight Series” on Blockchain and its potential impact in the wealth management space. The event, hosted (with thanks) by Willis Towers Watson Plc, was well-attended by a mix of full and associate WMA member firms. We are also grateful to the Chair of the event, Amin Rajan (CREATE-research) and our expert panellists, Katrina Sartorius (Euroclear SA/NV), Ian Benson (Maclay, Murray & Spens LLP) and Scott Riley (Block Asset Technologies). WMA will produce a summary paper of the discussion for distribution to attendees.
WMA Retail Markets Committee Susan Sternglass Noble and Matt Hann from the Dormant Assets Commission (DAC) outlined the Commission’s work and the relatively tight timeframe for gathering evidence on the amount of “dormant assets” (the current definition being used is effectively where there had been no contact with the client for over 15 years). The DAC has issued a “call for evidence” consisting of 15 questions, which provides the industry with an opportunity to provide feedback on where there might be current barriers (for example in the CASS rules). If any member firm would like a copy of the questionnaire please contact Andy Thompson. Responses are requested by 10th June 2016 and will be used on a no-names’ basis.
WMA's Liz Field listed in City AM's 'Power 100' list WMA's Chief Executive Liz Field was recently noted in the City AM's 'Power 100 Women's list' which celebrates the Square Mile's most inspiring women. View the full list here.
Barrass, Brexit and Bloomberg Listen to WMA's Deputy CEO John Barrass as he discusses the impacts of Brexit from regulation to business practices on Bloomberg Radio here.
Legal Entity Identifiers (LEIs) WMA met with the London Stock Exchange on 26th May 2016 to discuss some potential options to manage the process of obtaining LEIs for Trust clients, including where the Trust may have an account with more than one wealth manager. A third meeting of the WMA-LSE LEI User Group will take place 21st June 2016 to discuss the options in more detail with a cross-section of WMA member firms.
HMRC consultation document: "Tackling tax evasion: legislation and guidance for a corporate offence failure to prevent the criminal facilitation of tax evasion" On 23rd May WMA discussed with several member firms the HMRC consultation document in respect of the proposed corporate offence for facilitating tax evasion. WMA will put together some relevant sector examples and plan to share these with a wider group of WMA members prior to sending them to HMRC for their comment and “approval�. A copy of the HMRC consultation can be found here and if anyone is interested in being involved in this work, please contact Andy Thompson.
What's coming up in our industry? New FCA website to launch in June FCA will be launching their new website in June with five new sections - the Homepage, About us, Firms, Markets and Consumers. The changes will also feature new hub pages for each sector, including the latest news, publications, events, policy information and updates. FCA recommends that firms bookmark these pages for future visits. If you have any comments, questions or suggestions about the website please email FCA.
FCA/Bank of England Settlement Discipline Regime Working Group The WMA will be participating in a new working group that has been established by the FCA and the Bank of England to oversee the implementation of the new CSD Regulation settlement discipline regime. There will also be market maker representation on the working group.
What's coming up in WMA?
WMA Millennial Forum Presentation The WMA have been running our first Millennial Forum this year. Launched as part of the wider WMA research strategy, its key aims are to: 1.
Help develop the next generation of wealth leaders
2.
Generate new ideas for specific challenges that impact the continued success of wealth
management The Forum participants will be presenting their findings and addressing industry concerns on how the wealth management community can attract, engage and retain younger clients next week to a panel of industry leaders, journalists and subject matter experts. The final output will take the form of a whitepaper to be published by the WMA in July.
FCA and the Capital Requirements Regime WMA continue to liaise with FCA regarding the proposals from the EBA to exclude non-systemic investment firms from the capital requirements regime.
MiFID II - Product Providers WMA are starting very preliminary meetings with potential data provides for MIFID II, covering such issues as types of financial instruments for best execution reporting and the provision of product cost data.
WMA FinTech Conference: Evolution, Not Revolution? London, 7th September
We are pleased to announce the inaugural WMA FinTech Conference taking place on 7th September 2016 in conjunction with KPMG. This conference is a one-day event which will provide attendees with a platform to discuss the advantages and potential risks of bringing technology and the Wealth Management industry closer together. We are also holding an open competition for firms to demonstrate their ‘Future of WealthTech Solutions’ which closes on 1st July 2016. For more information, please visit the website.
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. If you have forgotten, or do not have your WMA log in
Website: www.thewma.co.uk
details, please contact us at enquiries@thewma.co.uk.
Tel. (+ 44) 20 7448 7100
You are receiving this email because your firm is a member of the Wealth Management Association (WMA), or you have individually requested to join the WMA mailing list.
Wealth Management Association (WMA) 22 City Road , Finsbury Square, London ECIY 2AJ Unsubscribe