FCA sets out improvement areas for AR oversight

Regulator slams some principal firms for taking ‘bare minimum’ approach

Isabel Baxter
clock • 3 min read

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has set out good practice and areas for improvement to help principal firms effectively monitor their appointed representatives (ARs).

The findings followed a review of how well principals were meeting its enhanced AR rules introduced in December 2022. The analysis involved a telephone survey with 251 principals and in-depth assessments of documentation from 23 firms. The examples of good practice that the FCA identified from principals included keeping clear documentation to show compliance with its enhanced rules and using a broad range of checks and information to oversee and monitor ARs' activities. However, the regulator found some firms were taking a "tick-box approach" to complying with its rules, relying on b...

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