FCA recognises need to ‘up our game’ and admits FSCS levy is ‘unsustainable’ at PIMFA Virtual Fest

10 March 2021

FCA recognises need to ‘up our game’ and admits FSCS levy is ‘unsustainable’ at PIMFA Virtual Fest

• Regulator acknowledges need to ‘up our game’ on how it uses data
• Scams & vulnerability has increased since COVID-19 pandemic
• FSCS levy unsustainable but no simple solutions

Debbie Gupta, Director of Life Insurance and Financial Advice at the FCA, told delegates in her keynote address on day two of PIMFA’s Virtual Fest 2 the FCA acknowledged it needed to change, adding the independent reviews of the regulator’s handling of LCF and Connaught made for “sobering reading for all of us”.

She added: “I wanted to reassure you that we are profoundly sorry for the mistakes we made and the devastating impact that has had on investors. Our approach to the consumer investment market will need to change and we will need to take account of the learnings from both the reviews”.

Ms Gupta said the regulator also shared the frustration of wealth managers and advisers over the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). She said the FSCS estimate that its compensation levy for this year would be 48% higher than in 2020 at over £1bn, showed the current situation was “unsustainable” and she said the FCA wanted “to see this come down”.

While saying the FCA recognised “the painful consequences of where we are today” and the need to consider ways to address it, she said the challenge was how to bring down the cost of the levy, noting that suggestions from across the industry had been “inherently contradictory”.

Tensions existed between “what was desirable versus what was achievable and what was practical and fair,” she said.

Ms Gupta suggested “some hard questions” needed to be asked around the issue of PI Insurance. She suggested regulatory intervention could lead to higher PI premiums but may reduce firms’ contributions to the FSCS. The question, she said, was whether this would be considered a price worth paying.

She acknowledged that that many felt supervisory failings meant “bad actors were not being removed quickly enough” and that many felt that this in turn was “driving up FSCS costs.”

While admitting it would be “utterly absurd” for her to say there was “nothing more the FCA could do” Ms Gupta added: “Recognising that there was room for improvement was not the same as being the cause of higher FSCS or Professional Indemnity Insurance premiums”.

PIMFA produced an FSCS strategy paper in December, ‘A rising tide lifts all boats’, which highlights key activities and call for analysis that can be undertaken by the Government, the FCA and the FSCS.  This points to a collaboration between all parties including the industry.

The growth in scams and those consumers that would be considered financially vulnerable were key concerns for the FCA in the coming year, Ms Gupta added, while also noting the positive and important role the wealth managers and advisers played in helping their clients through the most difficult times.

Liz Field, Chief Executive of PIMFA commented: “We are very grateful to Debbie Gupta for joining us today at Virtual Fest and for her frank and honest views.  We will continue to engage constructively with the FCA as Debbie herself acknowledged in her keynote speech and I’m pleased that engagement, particularly at the start of the pandemic last year has enabled the regulator to work with our members in a constructive and agile way.

“We will continue to the engage with both the FCA and the FSCS to the issues of the levy and supervision. The fact that they both acknowledge the levy is unsustainable and that improvements need to be made to supervision are both welcome.

“At the start of this year PIMFA put forward a set of 12 recommendations that would, we believe, help create a consumer investment market that is Fit for the Future and provides Advice for All. At the heart of those recommendations were three principles: the creation of a safe environment that encourages more consumers to save and invest; improving financial literacy and enabling more people to access advice and the ensuring the regulatory environment is one in which the advice industry is able to thrive, innovate and grow. We stand ready to work with all stakeholders to make that a reality.”

<ENDS>

Notes for Editors

About PIMFA – the Personal Investment Management & Financial Advice Association

• PIMFA is the trade association for firms that provide investment management, investment services and advice to everyone from individuals and families to charities, pension funds, trusts and companies.
• The sector currently looks after £1.65 trillion in private savings and investments and employs over 63,000 people.
• PIMFA represents both full and associate member firms. Full members provide a range of financial solutions including financial advice, portfolio management, as well as investment and execution services. They assist everyone from individuals and families, to charities and pension funds, all the way to trusts and companies.  Associate members provide professional services to the PIMFA community.
• PIMFA leads the debate on policy and regulatory recommendations to ensure that the UK remains a global centre of excellence in the wealth management, investment advice and financial planning arena. Our mission is to create an optimal operating environment so that its member firms can focus on delivering the best service to clients, providing responsible stewardship for their long-term savings and investments.
• PIMFA has made numerous recommendations to the FCA regarding the Future of Supervision and the FSCS levy – read more.
• Add future of advice paper
• PIMFA was created in 2017 as the outcome of a merger between the Association of Professional Financial Advisers (APFA) and the Wealth Management Association (WMA) with a history as a trade association since 1991 – read more.
• Further information can be found at pimfa.co.uk

Contact

For further information on this release or other press matters please contact:

• Matthew West, PIMFA PR Manager – MatthewW@pimfa.co.uk, +44 (0)20 7382 0376 / +44 (0) 7843 903258
• Sheena Gillett, PIMFA Communications & PR Director – sheenag@pimfa.co.uk, +44 (0)20 7011 9869 / +44 (0)7979 493225