We must arrange for orderly records to be kept of our business and internal organisation, including all services and transactions we undertake, which must be sufficient to enable the FSA to monitor the our compliance and to ascertain that we have complied with all obligations with respect to clients.
Procedure for Advisers
The following Entry Types (where applicable) must be kept on file for each transaction: -
Initial Disclosure Documents (IDD)
Fact find
Evidence of research
Illustration
Key facts document
Commission disclosure
Money Laundering form
Application forms
Cheque/DD mandate
Suitability letter
Last page of Suitability letter signed by client
Policy documents
Mortgage offer
MPPI disclaimer
New Business Submission Form
If storing on to 1st software, please ensure that the correct 'Entry Type' is used, and that each of the above 'Entry Types' refers to the correct plan name. This ensures that files are easy to find at a later date.
Procedure for Compliance
The Compliance Director is responsible for record keeping and reporting to the FSA. Records to be maintained as part of the systems and controls include:
Significant Breaches register
Complaints register
Persistency record
New business records (inc. occupational transfers and opt out/non joiners)
Replacement business record
Financial Promotion record
Execution only register
Recruitment files
Training and Competence records
Senior Management Apportionment
Monitoring reports
Non-investment insurance contracts
Where we make a personal recommendation to a customer, and if the customer acts on the personal recommendation by concluding the non-investment insurance contract with us, we must retain a copy of the Suitability Letter (‘Demands and Needs’ statement) for a minimum period of three years from the date on which the personal recommendation was made.
ICOB 4.4.7
Where a provider does not operate from an establishment in the United Kingdom, we must retain both a policy summary and a policy document in relation to each contract concluded for a minimum period of three years after the information has been provided to the customer.
ICOB 5.7.1
Mortgages
We will make an adequate record of each illustration that we issue to a customer, where the customer applies for that particular regulated mortgage contract. This record must be retained for a year from the date of the application made by the customer. This record should contain or refer to matters such as: -
The date on which the illustration was provided to the customer
The date of the application made by the customer
Details of the medium through which the illustration was provided
MCOB 5.4.19 & 20 & 22
We are not required to keep records of illustrations that are issued to a customer where the customer does not apply to enter into that particular regulated mortgage contract.
MCOB 5.4.21
Where notice of cancellation has been served on us, we must make and retain a record (which includes a copy of any receipt of notice issued to the retail customer and the retail customer's original notice instructions) for three years from the date when we first became aware that notice of cancellation had been served.
MCOB 4.6.11
Suitability Reports
We must keep Suitability Reports for:
Pension transfer/ pension opt-out/ FSAVC: Indefinitely
Life policy/ pension contractor stakeholder pension scheme: Five years
Any other case: Three years
COBS 9.5.2
We need not keep a record of the Suitability Report if the client does not proceed with the recommendation.
COBS 9.5.3
Cancellation rights
We will keep records concerning the exercise of a right to cancel and retain them:
Indefinitely in relation to a pension transfer, pension opt-out or FSAVC
For at least five years in relation to a life policy, pension contract, personal pension scheme or stakeholder pension scheme
For at least three years in any other case
COBS 15.3.4
Inducements
We will keep a record of each fee, benefit, commission or non-monetary benefit given to another firm.
Financial promotions
We must keep a record of any financial promotion we communicates or approve. For a telemarketing campaign, we must make an adequate record of copies of any scripts used.
COBS 4.8.3
Scopes and ranges
We must keep a record of the scopes and ranges we use for five years.
Terms of Business and Initial Disclosure Documents
We must provide clients with, and keep a record of, a TOB and IDD (in good time before a client is bound by any agreement relating to a product) and we must notify clients in good time about any material changes to them.
Based on COBS 8.1.3 and COBS 8.1.4
Pension transfer or pension opt-out as an execution-only
If we arranges a pension transfer or pension opt-out as an execution-only transaction, we must keep a record of the fact that no personal recommendation was given to that client.
COBS 19.1.5
Group Pensions
When we promote a PPP or GPPP to a group of employees we must record why we think the promotion is justified
COBS 19.2.3 |
