This month we bring you the best bits from various regulators' speeches about the future regulatory model, improvements for standards in financial advice and what’s next for the FCA-Pensions Regulator joint strategy. Read on also for rumours of changes to the rules for unit-linked funds and new rules for non-UCITS retail schemes.

How to drive up standards in financial advice

In a speech at the Money Marketing Interactive Conference in Harrogate, FCA Director of Life Insurance and Financial Advice Supervision Debbie Gupta spoke about the quality of financial advice.

Gupta reiterated the FCA’s interest in the suitability of advice, products and services that clients receive. She charged the industry, along with her own organisation, with a responsibility to protect consumers from harm.

She said that the regulator wanted to improve things in four areas.
    1. Improving standards, especially in areas where advice and services are known to fall short.
    2. Targeting the firms that cause the most harm.
    3. Giving customers support that alerts them to the things that they can expect from their advisors.
    4. Helping advisors by telling them what the FCA has learnt.

In her speech Gupta said that the key to getting 'suitability' right is a thorough understanding of one's client. She urged advisers to spend time and energy on relevant fact-finding and detailed recording and note-taking.

A section of Gupta’s speech that caught the attention of the industry was her suggestion that advisors ought to consider recording clients' transactions. This is not in the rules. She thought that the best way for firms to defend themselves against cases (and to gain the most accurate – and therefore useful – portrayal of clients and their needs) was to record these transactions.