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    2021-09-01

COBS 10A.7 Record keeping and retention periods for appropriateness records

COBS 10A.7.1G

A firm is required to keep orderly records of its business and internal organisation, including all services and transactions undertaken by it. The records may be expected to include the client information a firm obtains to assess appropriateness and should be adequate to indicate what the assessment was.

Record keeping: MiFID business

COBS 10A.7.2UK

356(2) Investment firms shall maintain records of the appropriateness assessments undertaken which shall include the following:

  1. (a) the result of the appropriateness assessment;

  2. (b) any warning given to the client where the investment service or product purchase was assessed as potentially inappropriate for the client, whether the client asked to proceed with the transaction despite the warning and, where applicable, whether the firm accepted the client’s request to proceed with the transaction;

  3. (c) any warning given to the client where the client did not provide sufficient information to enable the firm to undertake an appropriateness assessment, whether the client asked to proceed with the transaction despite this warning and, where applicable, whether the firm accepted the client’s request to proceed with the transaction.

[Note: article 56(2) of the MiFID Org Regulation]

Record keeping: insurance-based investment products

COBS 10A.7.2AUK

319(1) Without prejudice to the application of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council, insurance intermediaries and insurance undertakings shall maintain records of the assessment of suitability or appropriateness undertaken in accordance with [COBS 9A.2.1R, COBS 9A.2.16R, COBS 10A.2.1R and COBS 10A.2.2R]. The records shall include the information obtained from the customer and any documents agreed with the customer, including documents that set out the rights of the parties and the other terms on which the insurance intermediary or insurance undertaking will provide services to the customer. Such records shall be retained for at least the duration of the relationship between the insurance intermediary or insurance undertaking and the customer.

19(3) In the case of an assessment of appropriateness undertaken in accordance with [COBS 10A.2.1R and COBS 10A.2.2R], the record shall further include the following:

  1. (a) the result of the appropriateness assessment;

  2. (b) any warning given to the customer where the insurance-based investment product was assessed as potentially inappropriate for the customer, whether the customer asked to proceed with concluding the contract despite the warning and, where applicable, whether the insurance intermediary or insurance undertaking accepted the customer's request to proceed with concluding the contract;

  3. (c) any warning given to the customer where the customer did not provide sufficient information to enable the insurance intermediary or insurance undertaking to assess the appropriateness of the insurance-based investment product, whether the customer asked to proceed with concluding the contract despite the warning and, where applicable, whether the insurance intermediary or insurance undertaking accepted the customer's request to proceed with concluding the contract.

[Note: article 19(1) and (3) of the IDD Regulation]

Record keeping: MiFID business and insurance-based investment products

COBS 10A.7.3G

1A firm should refer to SYSC 3.3 (for insurers and managing agents) and2 SYSC 9 (for other firms)2 for its obligations in relation to record keeping. These provisions require2 records kept for the purposes of this chapter to be retained for a period of at least five years.