The FCA "Fit and Proper" test is designed to set minimum standards in relation to those working in a controlled function. It covers honesty and integrity, competence and capability and financial soundness. Adverse credit will be detrimental in respect to meeting these standards.

An unvested personal pension is a pension that has not yet been crystallised. If a person dies before 75 years of age the pension can be paid to any selected beneficiary as either a lump sum or an income based on the nomination of wishes tax free subject to the lifetime allowance (LTA) of £1,073,100. Any amount over the LTA is subject to income tax at the beneficiaries highest marginal rate.

The FOS will deal with complaints in respect to regulated products and advice. The complaint must have been made within 6 years of the event occurring or within 3 years of becoming aware of the reason to complain and not be subject to a court case. If the provider and the FOS has not dealt with the complaint made by the complainant to their satisfaction, they can take their complaint to the courts.

Fiscal policy involves the actions taken by the government to either stimulate or calm the economy using a combination of taxation, spending and borrowing. When the government implements an inflationary budget they are trying to expand (inflate) the economy with lower taxes and increased government.

The Money laundering rules require that all authorised firms must establish accountabilities and procedures to prevent money laundering.  Firms must obtain evidence of identification in the case of new clients or where there is suspicion of money laundering. All staff must be trained to report suspicious circumstances and staff must refrain from alerting persons. Record keeping requirements for money laundering state that firms must keep ID records for 5 years after the relationship with the customer has ended, also supporting evidence of transactions must be retained after the transaction has been executed for 5 years. 

As the customer ended the relationship 2 years ago, then the records must be kept for a further 3 years (36 months).

Tip: Do not confuse money laundering record keeping requirements with FCA record keeping requirements that are 3 years (non MIFID), 5 years (MiFID, pensions and long term insurance) and indefinitely for pension transfers.

If a property is purchased on a joint tenancy basis it means that all the owners have 100% legal and equitable ownership. This means it automatically passes to the surviving owner(s). No probate is required and it cannot be overridden by a Will. If the survivor is a spouse/civil partner then there will be no IHT issues, however if the survivor is not a spouse/civil partner there may be IHT due if the value of the deceased's share is above the Nil Rate Band (NRB). 

The Senior Managers and Certification Regime was implemented due to the lack of redress for those in charge when things go wrong, highlighted as a result of the credit crisis.  The new framework will help identify individual accountability if things go wrong and will regulate individual conduct and standards in the financial services industry. Senior managers in Enhanced firms will have a Responsibilities Map that identifies which manager is responsible for each area. This will assist the regulators in identifying who is responsible if problems arise.

Market manipulation is when a person creates a false rumour for their own financial gain. Insider dealing is when a person knows the truth and uses that information for their own financial gain. Both are considered criminal offences and will invoke an FCA investigation.

Within the FCA Handbook the customer has cancellation rights in respect to most financial products, although there are some exemptions. For most investments and general insurance the statutory cancellation notice (cooling off period) is 14 days from when the contract begins or from when the terms are received. This allows the customer to change their mind without penalty. For long term life assurance, pensions and annuities the cancellation notice period is 30 days.

If the borrower/s enters a part reversion and down sizes, then they must pay the Home Reversion provider the same proportion of the ownership based on the money released through downsizing.