The Association of Professional Financial Advisers (APFA) has called for compensation for those firms who have been over-charged in the present regulatory fee regime.
The adviser body responded to the latest consultation paper on regulatory fees and levies from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). It welcomes plans to reform fee blocks A12 and A13, but calls for the FCA to consider compensation for firms that have been paying a disproportionate amount under the current system.
Chris Hannant, director general at APFA, said: “The new fee blocks proposed will better reflect the risks that firms pose, distinguishing between firms that hold assets for clients and those that do not. However, A13 firms paid a far greater share of the bill than they should have in 2013/14, over-charged by thousands of pounds per firm. We urge the FCA to make an adjustment to the fees for 2014/15 to correct this error.”
APFA also commented on consumer credit, calling for the FCA to provide clarification on whether advisers’ activities will be included in legislation.
Hannant added: “We welcome the revised consumer credit licence application fees proposed by the FCA at the end of last year, as we know that many of our members hold consumer credit licenses as a precautionary measure.
“However, it is still unclear whether activities that advisers undertake will be caught by the legislation. More clarity is needed so that firms are not charged where consumer credit permissions are not required.”
