Introducing Ethics into your Practice
Managing your practice in terms of the FAIS Act and the General Code of Conduct may be time-consuming, but at least there is a set of rules to guide you. The advent of […]
Best Practice
Business Protection for the One-Person Business
We often receive emergency calls for assistance from FSPs who suddenly discover that they are short a template or two. This usually happens when they complete their annual compliance report, or as a […]
Treating Customers Fairly and Complaints Management
Sometimes, something that appears insignificant can have rather important ramifications. The Regulator recently requested all registered short-term insurers who are members of the Short-term Ombudsman (OSTI) to provide full details of personal lines […]
Proposed Changes to Liquid Assets Definition
Financial Services Providers who receive client funds are required to conform to very specific requirements in terms of liquidity, as set out in the Determination of Fit and Proper Requirements. In terms of […]
Do not wait for POPI
Even a genuine mistake can be costly these days. A FSP recently settled for a fine of R50 000 for not obtaining proper authorisation before disclosing confidential client information to a third party. […]
Whereto with POPI and TCF?
We frequently receive enquiries about legislative changes, specifically regarding Treating Customers Fairly (TCF) and the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPI). Some product providers have even requested advisors to sign TCF declarations. As […]
Your Voice: Healthcare Distribution Remuneration
The long-standing battle by the Council for Medical Schemes to have gap cover and hospital plans clearly demarcated as insurance, and not medical products, is indicative of its determination to ensure that clients […]
Your Voice: Commission on Healthcare Products
In 2000, the authorities governing our industry placed restrictions on medical aid fees. It was 3% with a cap of R50. Some 14 years later the cap is R69 (last I looked). I […]
Proposed Advertisement Guidelines
We publish below extracts from a document recently published by the Regulator aimed at regulating “advertisements, brochures and similar communications”. A Draft Information Letter, providing guidance to long-term and short-term insurers on the […]
Moonstone’s Compliance Report Workshop
All Category I FSPs who are not obliged to appoint a compliance officer are required to submit the prescribed compliance report for 2013 to the FSB by 28 February 2014. Our popular workshops […]
Moonstone Protector Now Online
We are excited to announce the launch of the new Protector Online System. Moonstone Protector is a support service for one-person FSPs who are not required to appoint a compliance officer, but require […]
Charges in Respect of Investment Policies
The Long-term Ombud recently published two examples of excessive charges on endowment policies which confirmed the view that a revision of product provider costs is possibly a bigger problem than advisor fees. This […]
Fees for Service Redefined
The Review of Retail Distribution has certainly taken an interesting turn from where we thought the Regulator was heading with this very important issue a year ago. The term, “Fees for Service”, implied […]
Compliance Consolidation
The introduction of the FAIS Act brought a number of additional layers of cost which providers of financial services had to absorb. The majority of the tentacles of this octopus have compliance written […]
Embedding TCF in the insurance regulatory framework
The presentation by the FSB focussed on how the six desired outcomes of treating customers fairly will impact on the industry. For this discussion, we will only focus on three which will affect […]
TCF Update
The Treating Customers Fairly Roadmap provides some guidance to the planned roll out of this initiative, with enforcement indicated as starting in January 2014. The fact that it has its own unique little […]
Dicey Relationships
One would think that the required relationship between key individuals and their representatives are fairly clear. Where a key individual is required, at this time, to have successfully completed the level 1 regulatory […]
