PA ANALYSIS: The time for transparency is now
If the financial services community needed any further evidence of the sea change currently underway, a quick scan of Monday’s headlines should have done the trick.
Regulation
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Document leak ‘biggest ever blow to the offshore world’
Around 11.5 million leaked documents from a Panama-based law firm have exposed the offshore holdings of politicians, sports stars and public officials around the world.
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FCA reports fall in financial services complaints
Financial services firms in the UK received 2.11 million new complaints between July and December 2015, a decrease of 1.4% compared with the previous six months, according to the Financial Conduct Authority.
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IA unites fund groups to combat UK ‘productivity puzzle’
The Investment Association has unveiled details of its Productivity Action Plan aimed to “catalyse the provision of long-term finance and enhance investor stewardship”.
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Looking again at ways to pay
The re-emergence of adviser commission on retail financial products could actually be a positive for the industry and the non-high-net-worth client.
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Crown dependency DTA change ends property developer loophole
The UK’s double tax agreements (DTA) with Guernsey, Jersey, and the Isle of Man have been amended so that non-UK resident property developers will no longer be able to avoid paying income or corporation tax in the UK.
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Return to commission in UK ‘ruled out’ by FAMR report
In further industry reaction, a number of key players in financial services have reacted positively to the FAMR report’s positioning in favour of a fee-based only RDR regime, with no re-introduction of commission as remuneration for financial advisers.
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FAMR calls for early pension access and advice definition change
The Financial Conduct Authority is calling for early access to pension pots to pay for advice costs, in its final report on the Financial Advice Market Review (FAMR) published today.
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Senior Managers Regime comes into force in UK
The UK’s new senior managers regime, designed to hold bankers and insurance managers accountable for misconduct in areas under their responsibility, has come into force and will apply equally to officers of the Financial conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA).
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Budget changes to UK pension system still seen possible
The UK chancellor George Osborne’s widely reported decision to abandon plans to shake up the pension taxation in this month’s budget still leaves room for tinkering with the pensions system, analysts said.
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UK’s Osborne scraps plan for budget pension tax changes
The UK chancellor George Osborne has abandoned plans to shake up the pension tax system in this month’s budget after pressure from Conservative MPs, according to media reports.
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Pressure mounts on UK’s Osborne to ease up on pension reform
Chancellor of the exchequer George Osborne is under increasing pressure to ‘play it safe’ and not overhaul the UK pensions system when he reveals his Budget in 12 days’ time.
