Regulation

Firms offering 'lay advocate' roles to unqualified individuals after 2012 have been warned by the FSA to make sure they do not stray into regulated advice territory. Here's what you had to say...

I'm in the game of clear, concise and effective communication and, as client-facing advisers, so are you.

The FSA has for the first time made public its damning indictments of an IFA and an insurance broker who it banned for acting without integrity before a final decision has been made on the cases.

The FSA will use new rules requiring firms to publish the complaints records of their advisers to help "build an overall picture" of individuals, but it has promised to investigate fully any cases that give it cause for concern and says it will only ban...

The government will look to exempt small financial services firms from further regulation for three years when it writes new powers for the FSA's successor.

The FSA is moving "alarmingly close to economic regulation" with its latest proposals on data collection, AIFA said.

Standard Life has dumped its face-to-face advice service for private clients, who will now be dealt with via telephone and online.

The FSA will collect more data from firms after 2012 and monitor their activities to "mitigate the risk of poor consumer outcomes" and make sure they have implemented its adviser charging rules.

Small firms expect they will be hit harder by the ongoing cost of implementing the FSA's data collection rules compared to their larger counterparts and banks.

The FSA wants to monitor complaints data for individual advisers throughout their careers, with information linked to Individual Reference Numbers.