Learn how to adhere to the FCA’s Principles for Business and the standards that should be used by an Appointed Representative (AR) Network Member of ITC Compliance.
What is a Network Member's responsibility?
Ensure that your business is conducted within the 11 Principles for Business that the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) expects.
What are the Principles for Business?
The following are examples of how to comply with the Principles for Business:
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Monitoring Financial Promotions, website reviews and the reconciliation of your monthly figures.
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Maintaining adequate financial resources by ensuring that it is a financially sound and suitably resourced firm to enable the undertaking of regulated activities.
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Demonstrating that your business activities are structured in such a way that care and diligence are exercised on a continual basis and that you have sufficient risk controls.
Note: A full list of the FCA’s Principles can be found in the following link: www.fca.org.uk/about/principles-good-regulation
What should I do to meet this requirement?
To ensure you meet the criteria, deal with your Principal Firm in an open and cooperative way and disclose anything relating to the firm of which the FCA would reasonably expect (Principle 11).
Take reasonable care to ensure the suitability of advice and discretionary decisions for any customer who is entitled to rely upon your judgement (Principle 9). When selling regulated insurance products, there are two routes that you can take. These are Advised and Non-Advised sales.
Your company must pay due regard to the information needs of your customers and communicate information to them in a way that is clear, fair and not misleading (Principle 7).
This also falls in line with the Consumer Duty and is particularly important when using Financial Promotions.
How does ITC Compliance help you to abide by these Principles?
ITC Compliance provides the necessary framework for its Network Members to abide by the appropriate Principles as an Appointed Representative. This is provided via the provision of the online training tool, including modules that count towards the mandatory 15 hours Continuing Profession Development, ensuring that every member of staff is competent to perform their role within the firm. ITC Compliance also ensures that this Principle is met through monitoring financial promotions and website reviews, audits, visits, guides, manuals and sales systems. Get in touch with ITC today and find out more about how we can help.
