by Colin Baines | Aug 2018 | Comments
An article appeared recently in one of the pinks where an IFA was complaining that MiFID 2 rules requiring him to undertake annual reviews, in order to justify the cost of ongoing advice, were hampering his business. He said ‘The issue is that there may be some...
by Colin Baines | Jul 2018 | Comments
In his Mansion House speech of 2014, Martin Wheatley, the then CEO of the FCA stated that future regulation would place far more emphasis on good judgement rather than compliance with a narrow set of rules. The ‘ethic of care’, doing what is right, would...
by Colin Baines | Jun 2018 | Comments
In 1998, 10 years after the start of regulation, some 80% of advisers were acting as appointed representatives (ARs) of networks or of larger IFAs. Over the last 10 years though this has fallen back to probably a bit less than 50%. Increasingly firms now have the...
by Colin Baines | May 2018 | Comments
The FCA and before them the FSA, set great store by ‘whistle blowing’ whereby employees or anyone else ‘in the know’ could report skulduggery in their firms which might not otherwise go undiscovered. They were to be secure in the knowledge that...
by Colin Baines | Apr 2018 | Comments
The FCA has just completed a 2½ year investigation into the UKs £8.1 trillion fund management industry, focussing on operating practices and whether charges are excessive. The time taken to complete the investigation certainly seems excessive. It is difficult to...
by Colin Baines | Mar 2018 | Comments
Bitcoins rose in value by nearly 1,500% in the past year and although they have now fallen back substantially, they still represent a massive return for those who got in early. For those who are kicking themselves for not having taken a punt on this enigmatic currency...
