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Assessing suitability: Research & Due Diligence (R&DD). Agenda. Why look at R&DD? Thematic Review What we did Key findings Areas for consideration (including good/poor practice) Key takeaways and next steps. Why look at R&DD?. What is t he purpose of R&DD?
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Assessing suitability: Research & Due Diligence (R&DD)
Agenda Why look at R&DD? Thematic Review What we did Key findings Areas for consideration (including good/poor practice) Key takeaways and next steps
Why look at R&DD? What is the purpose of R&DD? Understanding recommended solutions Funds/products/services Two fundamental questions Why are we interested R&DD? - A root cause of unsuitable advice - To understand firms’ approaches
What we did Pre-consultation 13 Advisory firms 3 Provider firms 7 Third party consultancies
Key findings Majority of firms demonstrated elements of good practice Often not replicated across the entire approach Importance of culture of challenge
Criteria for selecting an investment solution Prescription Various criteria used for selecting investment solutions Link to customer needs and objectives Review of criteria
Assessing risks Volatility Various factors to consider including: Risks of underlying investment Product structure& complexity Presence/Absence of protections Fact vs opinion Familiarity with product/provider/assets
Provider due diligence Provider’s ability to continue providing the service: Financial strength Commitment to the market Broad understanding of firm’s position Entrusting the firm with client money
Platform due diligence Is it appropriate to recommend a platform? Criteria for the platform Objective approach rather than ‘retro-fitting’ Does the platform: Only receive remuneration permitted by the rules? Present retail investment products without bias?
Expertise Skills, knowledge & expertise Outsourcing to a third party Competence of the third party Cannot delegate responsibility for suitability
Implementation Effective communication of R&DD results throughout the firm Alerts Training/guidance
Ongoing reviews Constant change Structure of markets Proposition offerings Your client banks Revisit and refresh Periodic reviews vs ad hoc reviews
Key takeaways Culture of challenge Revisit & refresh Size doesn’t matter TR16/1 Assessing suitability web-page Watch this space
South West – March 2016 Northern Ireland – April 2016 North East – May 2016 East Midlands – June 2016 Wales – July 2016 Scotland – September 2016 East Anglia – October 2016 West Midlands – November 2016 London – December 2016 Yorkshire and the Humber – January 2017 South East – February 2017 North West – March 2017 https://www.fca.org.uk/events/roadshows/fca-live-and-local