Investment Advice

A firm must meet its regulatory obligations under COBS 4.7 and 10 to properly categorise retail clients and test appropriateness before arranging investments in non-readily realisable securities.

Suitability of investment advice requires balancing tax benefits against the consumer's risk tolerance, investment timeline, and liquidity needs.

An investment adviser must provide suitable advice on the volume and frequency of investment switches, and must not place personal financial incentives (commission) above the client's investment interests.

A principal firm is responsible for the regulated activities of its appointed representative, including arrangements leading to investments, and can be held accountable for misleading representations about investment returns even if ongoing

A firm must assess appropriateness by determining whether a client has sufficient knowledge and experience to understand the risks involved in the service or product offered, which cannot be satisfied by risk warnings alone.

A CFD broker must take sufficient steps to obtain the best possible execution when liquidating a client's position, and cannot rely solely on market conditions as justification for materially worse pricing than competitors achieved.

A financial adviser must provide suitable investment recommendations aligned with the client's risk profile and deliver the ongoing annual review service for which fees are charged.

A financial services firm must respond to customer requests for fund repatriation within a reasonable timeframe and provide fair compensation for loss of access to funds caused by unjustified delay.

A financial adviser must provide suitable investment advice aligned with the client's risk profile, investment mandate, and financial circumstances, and must implement the agreed strategy without excessive charges or deviations.

A firm must not pressure a retail client into elective professional status without clear, transparent communication of the risks being lost, particularly negative balance protection.

A CFD trading platform must ensure a customer's account is appropriate for them by assessing their knowledge and experience of CFD trading risks before allowing them to trade.

A financial firm must ensure that tools and calculators provided to customers for trading decisions are accurate and not misleading, particularly when the firm is aware of errors.

A platform provider is liable for financial losses caused by reliance on incorrect product information it displayed, even when the error originated from a third-party data supplier.

A financial adviser must provide suitable initial investment advice and ongoing review services to detect and correct any unsuitability that emerges.

Investment advice must be based on accurate information about product features and the adviser must ensure the client understands the actual terms of any investment being recommended.

A financial adviser must provide adequate ongoing service in line with agreed terms and should cease charging when no meaningful service is being delivered.

A CFD trading client bears primary responsibility for monitoring margin requirements and maintaining sufficient funds, with the firm entitled to close positions once margin thresholds are breached despite margin call notifications.

A financial firm must not open a CFD trading account for a consumer when it would not be in their best interests to do so, particularly where they lack knowledge of leveraged products and financial resilience to bear potential losses.

An appointed representative must comply with regulatory restrictions on who can be sold certain investments, particularly restrictions on eligible investors for unregulated collective investment schemes.

An appointed representative must comply with financial conduct regulations restricting who can be sold certain investments and must conduct adequate due diligence during the sales process.

An appointed representative must comply with financial services regulations restricting who can be sold unregulated investments and must conduct adequate due diligence on investors before sale.

A financial adviser must provide the ongoing services and regular reviews for which regular fees are being charged, as stated in the service agreement.

A financial adviser must provide suitable investment advice based on the client's capacity for loss, particularly where significant liabilities are due in the near term.

Financial advisers must assess suitability of investments based on the client's full circumstances, including liquidity needs and the specific tax context, not merely whether risks were disclosed.

Advice to invest funds earmarked for near-term property renovation needs in a medium-risk portfolio with 50% equities was unsuitable given the specific time horizon and purpose of those funds.

Investment advisers must provide clear, fair and not misleading information about investment risks and terms, especially when recommending high-risk products with significantly increased risk profiles.

A financial adviser must provide suitable advice taking into account the client's tax circumstances, and unsuitable advice requires compensation to put the consumer back in the position they would have been in had the advice not occurred.

Financial advisors must provide transparent fee structures, obtain explicit client consent for fees charged, and deliver the service quality promised for those fees.

A financial adviser must obtain explicit written consent for fees charged and must provide clear transparency about the costs of services provided.

Investment advice must be suitable to the client's attitude to risk, capacity for loss, and circumstances, particularly for inexperienced investors nearing retirement with significant cash holdings.

A firm must properly assess and verify a client's professional status eligibility and conduct periodic reassessments rather than relying on unverified self-declarations.

A discretionary investment manager must adhere to the agreed investment mandate and strategy with a retail client, including agreed trade limits and asset selection criteria.

A regulated firm arranging investments in non-readily realisable securities must conduct appropriate know-your-customer checks and ensure the investment is suitable for the consumer's circumstances, regardless of the execution-only form use

A firm must provide the ongoing advice services it charges for and must clearly disclose fees to consumers.

Investment advice must be suitable to the client's circumstances, risk appetite, and experience, and must be reconsidered if the client's attitude to risk materially changes.

A financial adviser must provide suitable personalised recommendations based on documented fact-finding and must act on agreed recommendations, particularly regarding de-risking and pension annuitisation when the client's circumstances and

A discretionary investment manager must implement reasonable risk management procedures, including stop-loss orders, to protect clients from excessive losses on leveraged derivative products.

An elective professional client (EPC) application must meet the quantitative test requiring the applicant to have held a professional position requiring knowledge of the specific transactions envisaged (leveraged derivatives trading), not m

Financial advisers must provide annual reviews as part of an ongoing advice service that consumers pay for through an Ongoing Advice Charge.

A discretionary portfolio manager must ensure investment decisions are suitable for the client's objectives, circumstances, experience, and attitude to risk, and must manage tax efficiently.

A bank must take reasonable steps to prevent customers falling victim to investment scams and should intervene when transaction patterns suggest fraud risk, even if the customer appears confident in the investment.

Suitability of investment advice requires adequate explanation of investment characteristics and risk levels, which must be verified and reviewed at subsequent annual meetings.

A financial adviser providing ongoing services under a Primary service level agreement must conduct suitable reviews of the client's circumstances and investments, including consideration of alternative investment vehicles.

A financial adviser must provide suitable investment advice that is appropriate to the client's circumstances and risk profile, and must disclose conflicts of interest.

A financial advisor must provide suitable investment advice that is appropriate to the client's circumstances, risk profile, and needs, and must disclose conflicts of interest.

Investment advice must be suitable to the client's circumstances, risk profile, and investment objectives, with proper documentation and reasonable justification for transactions.

A financial adviser must provide suitable advice aligned with a client's attitude to risk and ensure all agreed annual reviews are delivered, while fee arrangements must be clearly communicated and accepted.

A financial adviser must provide suitable investment advice based on the consumer's needs and circumstances, and must deliver the ongoing service that has been paid for.

An FCA-authorised firm may be held responsible for advice on unregulated investments where the advisor was acting within the scope of their employment and the firm failed to prevent involvement in the unregulated activity.

A financial adviser owes a duty of care to clients when recommending unsuitable high-risk investments, regardless of whether the firm later claims the advice was given outside the scope of the adviser's appointment.

Trail commission transfer is lawful where the consumer has signed a clear authorization form, even without ongoing advice provision, provided the transfer predates RDR rule changes prohibiting commission without agreed service.

Trail commission transfer is permitted under pre-RDR rules where a customer has signed authorization, and no ongoing advice service is required to be provided if no agreement for such service was entered into.

An appropriateness assessment under COBS 10a requires specific evidence of a client's knowledge and experience to understand investment risks, not merely a declaration form.

An appropriateness assessment under COBS 10/10a must gather sufficient information about the client's experience and knowledge to determine whether they understand the risks involved in complex investment products.

A discretionary trading arrangement must be conducted in accordance with the client's documented mandate regarding risk profile, investment strategy, and objectives.

A firm must ensure that a trading account is appropriate for the customer based on their knowledge, experience, and financial situation.

A spread betting firm's obligation to conduct an appropriateness assessment is satisfied by obtaining knowledge and experience information and providing risk warnings, even if the client later experiences significant losses.

A firm providing non-advised spread betting services must assess appropriateness based on the client's knowledge and experience under COBS 10A, not suitability considerations.

Execution-only brokers must assess customer appropriateness for trading based on gathered information about knowledge and experience, but are entitled to rely on customer-provided information unless they are aware it is inaccurate or incomp

An execution-only service provider can rely on information provided by the consumer and is not required to independently verify personal circumstances or detect undisclosed vulnerabilities.

An appropriateness assessment under COBS 10/10a requires determination of whether the client has the necessary experience and knowledge to understand the risks involved in the product, which is distinct from suitability.

A firm may charge for new financial advice provided to a client even if the client previously paid an initial fee to the predecessor firm for similar services.

A firm may infer a consumer's knowledge of leveraged products from their prior experience in similar trading activities, provided the consumer meets the appropriateness test threshold.

A firm providing non-discretionary wealth management advice is not required to regularly recommend fund switches absent a material change in circumstances or clear evidence that the original suitability assessment was flawed.

Investment advice must be suitable to the client's agreed risk profile, and advisers are not required to make regular fund switches without good reason in a non-discretionary service.

The complaint Mr D complains ITI Capital Limited is responsible for arranging an inappropriate investment into a bond. He says there was a failure in duty of care when completing the transaction for him and has resulted in a significant los

A financial adviser's discretion to reduce fees for reinvestment of matured funds is not obligatory where the adviser has clearly disclosed charges and the consumer has agreed to proceed with full knowledge of the fees and service terms.

A firm that clearly discloses its fees and receives informed written consent from a consumer to proceed with investment advice at those disclosed fees is not required to exercise discretion to reduce the fee merely because the work involved

Financial advisers must provide suitable advice that takes proper account of the customer's circumstances, needs and priorities, and must ensure customers understand the advice given.

Investment advice must be suitable to the client's circumstances and objectives, supported by contemporaneous suitability documentation.

A trading break imposed to prevent foreseeable harm does not constitute unreasonable restrictions if it allows customers to add margin to maintain existing positions and the firm was acting within its regulatory requirements.

An investment recommendation is suitable if it aligns with the client's attitude to risk, financial circumstances, and investment objectives, and the client has capacity to withstand potential losses.

A firm must treat customers fairly and communicate information in a way that is clear, fair and not misleading, particularly regarding the availability and tradability of financial instruments.

Financial advice must be suitable for the consumer's circumstances, particularly regarding liquidity risk for elderly, retired investors, even if risks are disclosed.

A financial adviser must conduct annual reviews as contracted, and the reviews must be completed within a reasonable timeframe relative to the contract commencement date.

A CFD firm can rely on information provided by a client at account opening unless it is aware the information is inaccurate or becomes aware of vulnerability requiring intervention.

A discretionary investment manager must ensure investment performance and advice align with the client's stated risk profile and that communications about returns are clear and accurate.

A discretionary fund manager is not required to provide financial planning advice on matters outside their scope of authority as an investment manager, such as pension contributions or tax-efficient cash deployment.

An adviser must provide suitable investment recommendations based on a client's circumstances and make clear the terms and conditions of products and services offered.

Investment advice must be suitable for the client's circumstances at the time it was given, considering available alternatives and the client's experience level.

Suitability of investment advice must be assessed against the consumer's circumstances, objectives, attitude to risk, and ability to afford the investment at the time of recommendation.

Suitability of investment advice must be based on accurate fact-finding and aligned with the consumer's actual circumstances, attitude to risk, and time horizons.

A firm must ensure investment advice recommendations are suitable based on the client's objectives, circumstances, and knowledge, with suitability clearly documented.

A firm acting as a broker for an unlisted company investment must comply with regulatory obligations regarding risk disclosure and suitability assessment before promoting investments to consumers.

A firm must provide annual reviews as part of ongoing advice service, but may avoid redress if it has made reasonable attempts to engage with clients who persistently decline the service.