The Financial Services Tribunal (FST) has upheld a decision by the Pension Funds Adjudicator to dismiss a complaint against a Discovery preservation fund, saying the applicant’s complaint was, in fact, against his financial adviser. The applicant, “IK”, joined the Discovery Classic Pension Preserver Plan in 2014. More than R5.3 million was transferred from his previous […]
Between 2008 and 2010, a pensioner couple invested in two Sharemax property syndications. They complained to the FAIS Ombud in 2011 after losing their money. Seven years later, the FAIS Ombud issued a determination ordering their adviser to pay them R749 000 (with interest of 10% a year accruing from the date of the determination). Last […]
The Financial Services Tribunal (FST) as upheld the FSCA’s decision to debar a life insurance representative who admitted that she submitted unauthorised policy applications but subsequently sought to qualify her admission. What is interesting about this case is that it provides clarity on the process involved when the FSCA debars a rep, rather than the […]
The FSCA has exempted retirement funds from using the formats in Board Notice 77 when preparing financial statements as long as they use the revised report formats approved by the Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors (Irba), the Authority said in a communication dated 14 April. Board Notice 77 of 2014 prescribes the format of the […]
If you are at the receiving end of an adverse decision by a financial services regulator, you should make use of your right to request reasons for the decision, because this may result in the regulator changing its mind, says Johan Loubser, an executive in the banking and finance department of law firm ENSafrica. He […]
The FSCA has published a draft conduct standard on the requirements for providing a benchmark in South Africa. This follows the publication in September last year by National Treasury of draft regulations that will designate the “provision of a benchmark” as a financial service in terms of section 3(3) of the Financial Sector Regulation Act. […]
The FSCA has outlined how it intends to promote transformation in the financial sector, both now and, more importantly, once the Conduct of Financial Institutions (Cofi) Bill becomes law. This week, the Authority released, for public comment, its draft strategy for promoting financial sector transformation. (Click here to download the document.) Cofi will empower the […]
The establishment of the Financial Services Tribunal in terms of the Financial Sector Regulation Act of 2017 brought much needed legal certainty to financial advisers and the public. Its predecessor, the FSB Appeal Board, was very limited in terms of its mandate as far as FSPs were concerned, apart from complaints relating to the (then) […]
The Gauteng High Court has dismissed, with costs, an application by Fusion Guarantees and its directors to declare sections 154, 167 and 231 of the Financial Sector Regulation Act (FSRA) unconstitutional and invalid. The application was brought against the FSCA, the Minister of Finance and the National Credit Regulator. The case was heard in September […]
The “default” annuity regulations were introduced to encourage the preservation of pension benefits and not to enable retirement funds to duplicate the investments offered by the financial services industry. This was the finding of the Financial Services Tribunal when it dismissed an application brought by the KZN Municipal Pension Fund against the FSCA. The fund […]
