FCA unveils RDR charging template following failings

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published a guide revealing how it will measure advisers' disclosure efforts against its expectations, after it detected "unacceptable" shortcomings in its latest post-Retail Distribution Review (RDR) work.

The regulator has produced an 'assessment tool' against which firms can check how they explain charges and their regulatoy status to clients. In the second part of a three-stage review into firms' compliance with the RDR's charging rules, the regulator found almost three quarters of firms were failing to disclose to clients the cost of advice adequately. It also found problems with firms disclosing their independent or restricted status to clients, however most IFA firms are meeting its independence rules, it found. The FCA called the findings a "wake-up call" for the industry. ...