Financial advisers not under radar, says FSA

The “folk lore” that small retail firms escape scrutiny by the regulator is wrong according to Stephen Bland, FSA Director of Small Firms. Speaking at Financial Adviser Expo in London in May, he said that only a third of financial advisers had not been contacted individually by the FSA in the last year. This figure is in addition to the 170,000 contacts that firms have with the Firm Contact Centre annually and 50,000 visits to the small firm pages of the fsa.gov.uk website each month. Bland also pointed to improvement in meeting electronic regulatory return submission deadlines by retail intermediaries, 90% now report on time against around 40% under previous regimes. “Our drive this year is on accuracy,” he said, acknowledging that the reliance on self-assessment in the returns risks error and deliberate distortion. The FSA intends to increase the number of spot checks it performs. Under risk-based regulation there is no chance of a return to inspection of all retail intermediaries, Bland commented, adding that it would require about 400 extra staff.