FPCOB 8.4 Advised sales

This section applies to a firm that provides advice on investments where that advice relates to a funeral plan contract.

A firm must take reasonable care to ensure the suitability of its advice for any customer who is entitled to rely upon its judgement.

1. (1)

   This rule applies to a firm that provides a customer with a personal recommendation in relation to a funeral plan contract.

2. (2)

   The personal recommendation must be provided:

   1. (a)

      on the basis of a fair and personal analysis;

   2. (b)

      in accordance with professional criteria, regarding which funeral plan contract would be adequate to meet the customer’s needs; and

   3. (c)

      unless (3) applies, on the basis of an analysis of a sufficiently large number of funeral plans available on the market.

3. (3)

   If the firm’s personal recommendation will not be provided in compliance with FPCOB 8.4.4R(2)(c), the firm must disclose this fact and the scope of the analysis that will form the basis of its personal recommendation to the customer in good time before the provision of the personal recommendation.

Where a firm provides a personal recommendation, the firm must, in addition to the statement of demands and needs, provide the customer with a personalised explanation of why a particular funeral plan contract would best meet the customer’s demands and needs.

A firm must provide the information in this section in accordance with FPCOB 6.2 (Means of communication to customers).