Where am I? 
Home Better Business Regulation
Categories: Regulation
Topics: FSA| qualifications| Financial Services Skills Council
The FSA could wrench the mandate to update qualifications standards from the Financial Services Skills Council (FSSC), and force a review of the criteria every three years.
Currently control for maintaining and adjusting assessment standards rests with the FSSC.
But today the FSA has pointed to the need for a more rigorous review regime than is in place, and says it is uncertain whether the present arrangement should be allowed to continue.
It proposes reviewing exam standards every three years, which could mean advisers taking qualifications now as required by the 2012 deadline may no longer meet FSA criteria by 2015.
In CP10/12 Competence and ethics, the FSA states: "To ensure that examination standards continue to accurately reflect industry roles we propose to update the standards every three years rather than wait for FSA reforms such as the RDR.
"Currently, the FSSC updates the standards on our behalf and neither FSA nor FSSC have reached a view on whether this arrangement should continue."
The FSA is also proposing to look at the content of qualifications for non-RDR activities, including mortgage advice, insurance, and back-office activities, and whether these would benefit from reform similar to the widespread changes in investment advice as a result of the RDR.
"We are primarily concerned with ensuring that any qualification is fit for purpose and areas examined cover the actual activities and skills necessary to perform the associated role," the paper states.
Areas where the FSSC Appropriate Examination Standards (AES) have not recently been reviewed are likely targets for reform.
This could include long-term care insurance, last reviewed in 2004, mortgage advice last revised in 2004, similarly lifetime mortgage activities, and equity release, last looked at by the FSSC in 2007.
Several overseeing activities last reviewed in 2005 could also face scrutiny, including overseeing collective investment scheme administration, safeguarding client money, overseeing safeguarding and administering of investments or holding client money, overseeing investment management administration, overseeing life policy administration, and overseeing stakeholder pension administration.
| Share | |
| Comment | FSA could become IFA examiner |
More regulation news
Email alerts
Recommended reading
Categories
Topics
Comments
Signs of Panic in Quango Land?
Faced with already losing responsibilites to the Bank of England, and the prospects of further loss of power via Treasury cut backs, is the FSA now adopting a 'dog eat dog' mentality and turning on other quangos so it can try and justify it's ongoing existence?
Posted by: Alistair Blyth
Complete Irony from the FSA
Exams every 3 years now is it?. Are the FSA worried about their own existence do you think?!!.The sooner they are disbanded the better. They are a pointless, lumbering organisation with decisions (eventually) being made by people who are so out of touch it is frightening. No other industry I am aware of requires re-qualification,so what is the problem here?. Cowboys have gone haven't they? I quote '"We are primarily concerned with ensuring that any qualification is fit for purpose and areas examined cover the actual activities and skills necessary to perform the associated role," Firstly, the FSA are certainly not 'fit for purpose' - what is their purpose anyway? Secondly, as for exams covering 'the actual activities and skills necessary' bit, well I recently sat the IFS 'Financial Planning Principles' exam to finalise my Level 4 qualifications, and some of the questions were bloody ridiculous. If the questions are supposed to relate to my job, I can't remember within the last 24 years the last time a client asked me what was on the agenda of the MPC!!. Or, what is considered to be a high net worth client. This is open to interpretation. Anyway, sod it, it's only my career they're messing around with. I am not overly religious, but I have to admit I am praying that somebody, who has at least got some IFA experience, starts making reasonable decisions and treating us like adults.
Posted by: Keith Jayne
Message the Government
They want your views about the FSA Follow:- http://programmeforgovernment.hmg.gov.uk/banking/
Posted by: John Whipple
Ban Bank Holidays
GRIEF!! Did somebody allow these lunatics a few days off to think up new ways to destroy the savings industry? I propose a ban on all future holidays. Oh I forgot -- it's one LONG holiday at the FSA.
Posted by: grosvenor
Related articles
Most Read
Audio / Visual
With the industry's biggest fund managers, IFAonline welcomes you to the media centre.
This year we have 14 awards designed to mark out the very best products in a highly competitive and innovative market. This includes three new awards for 2011 to reflect the developments in this rapidly growing market: Best Dual/Multi-Index Product, Best Structured (Oeic) Fund and Best Structured Product Provider.
Events
Poll
|
|
Job search
Ifaonlinejobs will open the right investment career path for you. Search hundreds of vacancies on www.ifaonlinejobs.co.uk now
In Focus
Two months left before the ‘real RDR deadline’ – are you compliant with the required professional...
Viewpoints
2012 marks a watershed for the Life companies, fund managers, banks and advisers who service...
sponsored by
FSA-Examinations
Only one word appalling. There is no employees in any other industry can be drummed out every three years. It is obvious that the FSA are trying to get themselves in a position that they can not be unravelled and put out to grass. Bearing in mind that over lots of issues in the past few years they have not been"fit for purpose" so will they have to be reviewed every 3 years to see if they are "fit for purpose". I am more and more convinced that the FSA will finally put the nail in the coffin of independant advice to push everyone to the banks.
Posted by: terry