FSA

Firms can 'make a judgement' about when pure protection services are associated with investment advice as the FSA settles on a more relaxed disclosure regime under COBS.

IFAs are under-equipped to benefit from a looming explosion of interest in long term care products, says a market specialist.

The protection market has started to recover over the last year, but it is being propped up by resurging critical illness sales, according to FSA figures.

Birmingham-based Wise Owl Services is no longer permitted to conduct insurance and mortgage activity after the FSA contacted the firm over concerns about its sales practices.

The Government's proposed new regulatory structure is nothing more than a "cosmetic" exercise that will not make a grain of difference, Lansons director of regulatory consulting Richard Hobbs says.

The FSA has outlined its timetable and intentions for dealing with the splitting of its responsibilities amongst several regulators.

The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) has highlighted examples of bad protection advice from complaints referred to it during the recession.

At the time of writing it has certainly been a season of manifestos.

Long term care, mortgage and equity release qualifications could be reviewed by the FSA every three years to "ensure they remain up to date and relevant".

The FSA will not push ahead with an ethical code just for investment advisers and has confirmed it will focus on key individuals within firms.