The Financial Services Authority (FSA) will have limited powers to regulate the sale of self-invested personal pensions (Sipps) and will have to rely on consumer knowledge to avoid mis-selling, according to the Financial Services Consumer Panel.
The comments come after John Howard, Consumer Panel chairman, wrote to the FSA’s chief executive, John Tiner, seeking clarification of his statement to the Treasury Select Committee that a lot of companies offering Sipps were already regulated by the FSA and that the regulator has a broad principle of Treating Customers Fairly (TCF). Howard says: “The FSA has made it clear that it will have some limited powers in relation to regulated firms selling Sipps when the remit is extended from A-Day. But the FSA will have to act robustly if this is going to provide any protection to consumers.” ...
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