When does cover commence?
The latest newsletter from the Long-term Ombud contains two cases where claims were repudiated as a result of a health condition manifesting between the date of application and acceptance of the risk. Non-disclosure […]
Compliance and Legislation
Short-Term Ombud Annual Report
There can be little doubt that there is a steady increase in the efficiency of this champion for the fair treatment of consumers. The figures listed below come directly from the Ombud’s report: […]
Intermediary Relationships after RDR
The eagerly awaited discussion document on the review of retail distribution, expected this month, has a long history. The triangular association – whereby the intermediary provides advice to the policyholder but is incentivised […]
Retail Distribution Review: Activity-based Remuneration
We commented on this very relevant topic last week. More detailed information has since come to hand. We will use this over the next few weeks to discuss what will possibly be contained […]
TCF in your practice
The FSB published guides for small FSPs and asset managers on the practical impact of treating customers fairly (TCF) on their businesses. The harsh reality of TCF is, of course, that you could […]
Proposed Exemption from New Legislation
Alan Holton, an independent compliance practitioner and associate of Moonstone, recently shared the following information regarding amendments to the Financial Services Laws General Amendment Act of 2013. Financial Services Board Act 1990 and […]
TCF and Causal Event Charges
The Pension Fund Adjudicator (PFA) recently ruled on an investor’s complaint regarding the excessive causal event charges. The PFA found in favour of the product house, but was rather scathing in her comments […]
PFA Ruling on Fund Returns
It is standard practice that Ombuds do not rule on what investors may deem to be unsatisfactory returns. This ruling is interesting for two reasons: The complainant alleged that excessive fees caused the […]
Remuneration on Section 14 transfers under review
The Retirement Funds Department of the FSB published Draft Information Circular 6 of 2013 to clarify its views on certain issues, including the payment of fees and commissions when a client elects to […]
Errata on Compliance Information
Very little escapes the eagle eye of Alan Holton, a compliance practitioner and associate of Moonstone. He came across a publication which contains compliance related articles, and brought the following to our attention […]
Review of Intermediary Services Definition on the Cards
The postponement of the Insurance Laws Amendment Bill, 2013 also impacted on a proposed change by the FSB to the FAIS Act. The objective of the proposed changes was to close regulatory gaps […]
Draft Regulations on Hedge Funds
The National Treasury (“Treasury”) and Financial Services Board issued the following media release last week: In 2012, South Africa, as a committed member of the G20, embarked on a process to enhance and […]
New Financial Intelligence Centre Directives
The FIC issued two new directives applicable to all accountable and reporting institutions: Directive 1 stipulates that “All institutions registered with the FIC are required to update their registration details only via the […]
Lest We Forget
When you walk on the right side of the law, it is often difficult to understand why so many obligations are placed on you to comply, when those, for whom the legislation is […]
Are We Experiencing Regulatory Overkill?
The head of Britain’s recently formed Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) was accused of backtracking on a promise to introduce “proportionate” red-tape on insurance brokers by the British Insurance Brokers Association (Biba), according to […]
Update on Retirement Reforms
The 2014 Budget announcement contained more detailed information on where we currently are on the road to extensive reforms of the retirement industry. A media release by National Treasury on 14 March 2014 […]
Moonstone’s Compliance Solution
There are a wide variety of compliance service providers in the financial services industry, which makes it difficult to compare apples with apples. We list below the services offered by Moonstone, and a […]
