APCIMS welcomes FSA's decision to withdraw superequivalent measures from its MiFID implementation

31 May 2007

The FSA has recently announced that it will withdraw its request and justification for the goldplating of a number of its MiFID implementation measures. Amongst the eighteen goldplating measures, which all relate to packaged products, were IDD and menu, hard disclosure of commissions and suitability reports.

Over the past eighteen months, APCIMS has been engaged with the FSA to try to ensure that any unnecessary superequivalence is kept out of the amended FSA rulebook for MiFID, which goes live on 1st November this year.

APCIMS Chief Executive David Bennett comments:

"APCIMS welcomes this decision by FSA, as it demonstrates that the regulator does take account of the views of the financial services community and is prepared to take a pragmatic view when implementing new rules.

The proposed super-equivalence would have created an additional, unequal, burden for FSA regulated firms in the UK, putting our firms at a competitive disadvantage to those based in other EU countries."

"We also applaud the determination EU Internal Market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy has displayed in combating any gold plating of MiFID rules by any of the Member States."

Ends

Notes to the editor:

APCIMS

APCIMS, the Association of Private Client Investment Managers and Stockbrokers, represents the interests of the vast majority of private client stockbrokers and wealth managers in the UK, and through them more than 10 million individual shareholders.

For further information please call:

David Bennett, Chief Executive, APCIMS Office: 020 7247 7080; Mobile: 077689 50041; Email:davidb@apcims.co.uk