Our Regulator
MoneyWise IFA Limited is Authorised and Regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). We are is known by the FSA as a Category A3 firm.
Our permitted business is:
- May control but not hold client money & assets
- Advising on Pension Transfers and Pension Opt Outs
- Advising on investments (except on Pension Transfers and Pension Opt Outs)
- Advising on regulated mortgage contracts
- Agreeing to carry on a regulated activity
- Arranging (bringing about) deals in investments
- Arranging (bringing about) regulated mortgage contracts
- Making arrangements with a view to regulated mortgage contracts
- Making arrangements with a view to transactions in investments
- Managing investments
You can check this by visiting the FSA register or by contacting the FSA on 0845 606 1234. Our FSA register Firm Reference Number is 185778.
Principles Based Regulation
We adhere to the 11 FSA principles which are that we must:
1. Conduct business with integrity.
2. Conduct business with due skill, care and diligence.
3. Take reasonable care to organise and control its affairs responsibly and effectively, with adequate risk management systems.
4. Maintain adequate financial resources.
5. Observe proper standards of market conduct.
6. Pay due regard to the interests of customers and treat them fairly.
7. Pay due regard to the information needs of clients, and communicate information to them in a way which is clear, fair and not misleading.
8. Manage conflicts of interest fairly, both between ourselves and our customers and between a customer and another client.
9. Take reasonable care to ensure the suitability of advice and discretionary decisions for any customer who is entitled to rely upon its judgement.
10. Arrange adequate protection for clients’ assets when it is responsible for them.
11. Deal with its regulators in an open co-operative way, and must disclose to the FSA appropriately anything relating to the firm of which the FSA would reasonably expect notice.
What is principles-based regulation?
Principles-based regulation means placing greater reliance on:
- Principles
- Outcome-focused, high level rules
and less reliance on:
The FSA’s aim is to focus more clearly on the outcomes they want to achieve, leaving more of the judgement calls on how to achieve those outcomes to the senior management of IFA firms. In certain areas FSA will continue to need to rely on detailed rules and prescriptive processes to ensure adequate consumer protection.
Why principles-based regulation?
The detailed FSA rules / Prescriptive standards unable to prevent mis-selling or market misconduct.
FSA prefer regulation that focuses on outcomes rather than prescription.
FSA believe that a large volume of detailed, prescriptive and highly complex rules can divert attention towards adhering to the letter, rather than the purpose of FSA regulatory standards.
What are the benefits of principles-based regulation?
For consumers and investors, the FSA’s belief is that their regulatory approach achieves outcomes that produce significant benefits both from more efficient markets and from firms better attuned to consumers’ needs.
