The U.K.'s Financial Services Authority says it was “very disappointed” at the rate at which investment adviser firms have been providing customers with so-called “key fact” documents about the firms’ services. In 130 “mystery shopping assessments” of 81 firms of all sizes, the FSA found that only 58% of advisers handed customers the appropriate disclosure documents concerning firm status and commission charges – only 52% of them provided them at what the agency considers “the right time.”
“FSA rules are not optional and these results are very disappointing,” says Clive Briault, the FSA’s managing director of retail markets. “These firms are not new to regulation and senior management should be well aware of their responsibilities for compliance with our rules,” which went into effect last year. “The principle of Treating Customers Fairly should be embedded in firms’ business models.”
