Wma bulletin 19th april

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WMA Bulletin 19th April 2016 Dear 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?

London Stock Exchange (LSE) and Deutsche Borse Merger WMA met with LSE officials on 13th April. As well as discussing retail aspects of LSE’s proposed merger with Deutsche Borse, there was a broader discussion of areas of common interest such as the Prospectus Regulation and LSE’s retail strategy.

Stuart Rutherford (who was at the meeting) has recently joined the LSE to look after retail services and SMEs which is good news in view of Stuart’s knowledge and experience of the RSP model and the WMA community.

Useful information from the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) The ICO recently published the below useful information: - Data Protection Regulation Guide A useful guide containing a short checklist highlighting 12 steps businesses can take now to prepare for the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which the ICO expects to come into force in mid-2018. You can find the document here.

- Encryption Guidance and Self Assessment Tool Updated guidance on encryption featuring several practical scenarios to highlight when and where different strategies can help provide a greater level of protection. You can download the document here.

A self-assessment toolkit is also available online - try it here.

What's WMA up to?

MIFID II and FCA We attended the first meeting held by FCA with Trade Associations to discuss Product Governance and Costs and Charges on 18th April. We anticipate there will be several more discussions as work on MIFID II progresses.

Exam Syllabus - FCA

We are continuing to attend a series of meetings with FCA updating the exam syllabus which will lead to a Consultation Paper on this issue which we think will be published in Q2 this year.

WMA-LSE LEI User Group The second WMA-LSE Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) User Group met on 6th April and a number of points came out of the meeting: - WMA will produce a short Q&A document that will help member firms understand the obligations around applying for LEIs for appropriate clients. This will be published on our website in due course - LSE will produce a list of acceptable documents for validating entity types - WMA will liaise with FCA about raising consumer awareness of LEIs via a page on the FCA's website.

MIFID II – Product Governance We are continuing to have discussions with the Investment Association (IA) and other Trade Associations on this issue. All stakeholders are keen to identify a workable solution for all industry participants.

WMA Operations Committee The Operations Committee met on 7th April and discussed: - data requests from SIPP providers in respect of standard and non-standard assets - concerns over some of the practical aspects of the proposed Lifetime ISA, such as how

the 5 per cent charge to withdrawals would be applied, and - the regulatory impact assessment in respect of dematerialisation.

What's coming up in our industry?

Second meeting of the Industry Working Group on Account Transfers and Re-registrations On 20th April the second meeting of the industry working group looking at account transfers and re-registrations will take place. This follows a request from the FCA to the industry to report back within 6 months of a review of SIPP providers and platforms. One of the main purposes of the second meeting is to map out what is and what is not in scope in terms of asset class, product and wrapper.

What's coming up in WMA?

Brexit Information We will be adding new information to our website about Brexit, with the intention of helping firms think about contingency planning for the eventuality that the UK votes to leave the EU on 23rd June. This will be for members only and will be placed under the EU Policy Support Area; keep any eye out for it this week.

We are open to receiving any further questions firms may have, please email John Barrass with your queries or feedback.

Innovation Hub, Advice Centre and Financial Advice Market Review We have set up an initial meeting with FCA which will be held at the end of the month to discuss the above topics. Our view is that we need to review the FCA's communication and engagement on these issues with our sector.

WMA Compliance Conference

30th June Herbert Smith Freehills

The 13th WMA Compliance Conference tackles some of the key current issues within the wealth management industry. Delegates will hear from industry experts, including the FCA, on a wide range of topical issues such as MiFID II, FAMR, PRIIPs and other regulatory ‘hot-topics’ - view the agenda here.

This is normally a sell out event so book online now to secure your place.

Insight 360: S.166 This Insight 360 event will focus on a range of issues relating to a S166 Skilled Person Review and/or a Notice of Investigation. Attendees should leave the session equipped to minimise the risk of receiving a S166 and/or Notice of Investigation and an understanding of the issues to be addressed should their firm receive a S166 and/or Notice of Investigation . Sign up now!

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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