FCA's Percival: Why we won't issue adviser checklists

Regulator is not 'prescriptive', says technical specialist

Carmen Reichman
clock • 3 min read

The regulator will not issue checklists for advisers to allow them to stick to a particular protocol when assessing product suitability for their clients because they are "counterproductive", technical specialist Rory Percival has said.

Percival told delegates at Distribution Technology's London conference the 'prescriptive' nature of checklists went "against the grain of how the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) regulates". He said previous experience had shown checklists are "problematic" and "don't cure anything". Advisers at the conference asked Percival for more detailed information on how the regulator wants them to assess suitability in the wake of its due-diligence review published in February. The review had found problems in the way advisers check the suitability of platforms for their clients, with some...

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