Regulation

The FSA's top brass is primed for a final face-off with the Treasury Select Committee (TSC) on the RDR next week, and advisers want MPs to hit the regulator with its fiercest interrogation yet.

Inheritance tax (IHT) should undergo a full-scale review and parts of business capital gains tax (CGT) could be overhauled in a widespread shake-up of the UK tax system.

FSA chief executive Hector Sants has confirmed the regulator will publish guidance later this year on simplified advice.

Outsourcing investment decisions has become a popular trend in the run up to RDR. Yet plenty of advisers are eager to keep control of this part of their business.

The FSA has given its backing to BS 8453, the new compliance framework for regulated financial services firms.

David Muncaster, director of intermediary clients at Close Asset Management, says the lack of clarity around gap-filling is leaving many advisers confused.

Sesame managing director Nick Kelly outlines the key things firms should look for in a network after the FSA yesterday said it had concerns over the network model.

The FSA has flagged up concerns around the quality of advice surrounding Distributor Influenced Funds (DIFs) and has warned adviser firms it expects standards to improve.

The FSA has issued an 'emerging risk' warning on investment advice firms which it says may seek to maximise recurring income before the RDR deadline next year.

The FSA is warning networks considering bulking up their appointed representative numbers ahead of 2012 to beware the "further strain" this will place on their compliance obligations.