WIREDGOV

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has today published the final list of qualifications retail investment advisers will need to pass before 1 January 2013.  This provides the certainty advisers need to prepare for the implementation of Retail Distribution Review (RDR) requirements.

Qualifications and ongoing study form part of the FSA’s plan to enhance the reputation of the retail investment market by instilling greater professionalism and ethics. Increasing customers’ trust and confidence in the sector is vital for its future.

The FSA is consulting on whether advisers will also be required to hold a Statement of Professional Standing confirming that they are qualified to give advice, have kept their knowledge up-to-date and subscribe to a code of ethics. The statements will be issued by FSA-accredited professional bodies.

To be accredited, the bodies will have to promote professional excellence, and prove their ability to apply a consistently high standard of checks on advisers. Setting the same requirements for all bodies will help deliver a uniformity of standards across the industry.

Confirming its proposal from December 2009 not to create a new Professional Standards Board, the FSA itself will set the standards it expects of investment advisers, and will supervise and enforce this through increased oversight of individual advisers.

Sheila Nicoll, the FSA’s director of conduct policy, said:

“Enhancing trust between customer and adviser is absolutely vital for the future prosperity of the retail investment market. The professionalism element of the Retail Distribution Review, in conjunction with adviser charging rules, will help this process.

“From January 2013, customers will be in a position to know that anyone registered with the FSA to give retail investment advice is fully qualified to do so, and any recommendations will be made solely in the interests of the customer.

“Professional bodies will offer support to members and encourage them to strive for professional excellence. This will drive up standards across the market, making it an attractive career proposition for a new generation of advisers.”

Notes for editors

1. Professionalism Consultation paper can be found on the FSA website.
2. The Professionalism Consultation paper also includes feedback to CP 09/31 on whether professional standards should be applied to pure protection advice.
3. The FSA regulates the financial services industry and has five objectives under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000: maintaining market confidence; promoting public understanding of the financial system; securing the appropriate degree of protection for consumers; fighting financial crime; and contributing to the protection and enhancement of the stability of the UK financial system.