As we move into the deep summer, it is not uncommon for there to be a period of calm as many turn to thoughts of holidays and well deserved relaxation. Parliament goes into recess and it’s a great time to catch up, review and plan for the future. Indeed, planning for the future is exactly what the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) wants us to consider in the raft of papers issued at the end of June. Wow - they have been busy!
I am sure that many of the stand-out papers, such as the Consultation on implementing asset management market study remedies and changes to Handbook paper, was well anticipated by DFMs, IFAs and the like, and was downloaded avidly on the morning of its release, so much so that the site became unavailable for a short time. The link to this paper can be found here: https://www.fca.org.uk/publication/consultation/cp17-18.pdf
But what of the other consultation papers and calls for input in June, such as Advising on Pension Transfers: https://www.fca.org.uk/publications/consultation-papers/cp17-16-advising-pension-transfers and the Financial Advice Market Review Baseline Report: https://www.fca.org.uk/publication/research/famr-baseline-report.pdf
All worthwhile and topical reads, if you have the time (I can think if other things to read by the pool on holiday!), these papers make for good CPD and will focus your plans on the potential future direction of our professions. But the key word here is potential, because many of these publications are consultations seeking guidance and comment from all of us.
Having responded to two FCA papers thus far, I can confirm that, as many of us have great passion for the work we achieve, having the knowledge and conviction to answer the questions posed is not difficult. And you only have to respond to the questions / points that you want to answer. You can email your answers back, or pop them in a letter...so, please do!
Your valuable voice, views, experience and opinions are being requested. And if you have a central office that you think should be responding, check that they do. Shape the future, because it is your future!
Keith Churchouse
CFP Chartered FCSI
Chapters Financial Limited