Carrot of competence

Much as the FSA would dearly like to remove the training and competence sourcebook (TC) in its entirety, as it declares in the recently issued CP 07/4,- and already intends to do, effectively, for wholesale market participants who deal only with non-private customers - it dare not. Retail firms en masse are simply not up to par in the standard of advice they provide, a truth evidenced all too starkly by the regulator’s T&C thematic work. It found that in the sample of retail firms examined, about a third of T&C procedures were not appropriate, which led to half of advisers making unsuitable recommendations. There is a very long way to go and the FSA hopes that industry guidance may see improvement in the sector’s lamentable record, although this will take time to formulate and finalise.