Related provisions for CONC 3.7.8
21 - 40 of 120 items.
(1) A firm must ensure that a communication or a financial promotion is clear, fair, and not misleading. [Note: paragraphs 2.2 of ILG, 3.16 of DMG and 3.1 of CBG](1A) A firm must ensure that each communication and each financial promotion:3(a) is clearly identifiable as such;3(b) is accurate;3(c) is balanced and, in particular, does not emphasise any potential benefits of a product or service without also giving a fair and prominent indication of any relevant risks;3(d) is sufficient
A firm must ensure that a communication or a financial promotion:(1) uses plain and intelligible language;(2) is easily legible (or, in the case of any information given orally, clearly audible);(3) specifies the name of the person making the communication or communicating the financial promotion or the person on whose behalf the financial promotion is made; and(4) in the case of a communication or financial promotion in relation to credit broking, specifies3 the name3 of the
(1) A firm must not in a financial promotion or a communication to a customer state or imply3 that credit is available regardless of the customer’s financial circumstances or status.[Note: paragraphs 3.7o of CBG and 5.2 of ILG](2) This rule does not apply to a financial promotion or communication relating to a credit agreement under which a person takes an article in pawn and the customer’s total financial liability (including capital, interest and all other charges) is limited
If a communication or a financial promotion names the FCA, PRA or both as the regulator of a firm and refers to matters not regulated by the FCA, PRA or both, the firm should ensure that the communication or financial promotion makes clear that those matters are not regulated by the FCA, PRA or both.
A firm should in a financial promotion or other communication which includes a premium rate telephone number indicate in a prominent way the likely total cost of a premium rate call including the price per minute of a call, the likely duration of calls and the total cost a customer would incur if the customer calls for the full estimated duration.Firms should note the effect of the call charges rule in GEN 7.2[Note: paragraphs 3.9h of CBG and 3.18x (box) of DMG]
The basic restriction on the communication of financial promotions is in section 21(1) of the Act. Sections 21(2) and (5) disapply the restriction in certain circumstances. Their combined effect is that a person must not, in the course of business, communicate an invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity unless:(1) he is an authorised person; or(2) the content of the communication is approved for the purposes of section 21 by an authorised person; or(3) the communication
Section 21 of the Act does not itself (other than in its heading and side-note) refer to a ‘financial promotion’ but rather to the communication of ‘an invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity’. References in this guidance to a financial promotion mean an invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity.
The exemptions in Part IV of the Financial Promotion Order (Exempt communications: all controlled activities) will apply to financial promotions about qualifying credit . Some of the exemptions in Part VI of the Financial Promotion Order (Exempt communications: certain controlled activities) will also apply. Those of particular note are referred to in PERG 8.17.10 G to PERG 8.17.12 G.2
Article 46 (Qualifying credit to bodies corporate) exempts any financial promotion about providing qualifying credit (or relevant consumer credit or consumer hire)4 if it is:(1) made to or directed at bodies corporate only; or(2) accompanied by an indication that the qualifying credit to which it relates is only available to bodies corporate.
Article 28B (Real time communications: introductions) exempts a real time financial promotion that relates to one or more of the controlled activities about regulated mortgage contracts, as well as home reversion plans, home purchase plans,4regulated sale and rent back agreements3, certain consumer hire agreements and relevant credit agreements4. The exemption is subject to the following conditions being satisfied:224(1) the financial promotion must be made for the purpose of,
4CONC 3 contains rules about financial promotions relating to credit-related regulated activity. CONC 3 does not apply, however, to the communication, or approval for communication, of a financial promotion to the extent it concerns qualifying credit. MCOB 3 applies to the communication or approval of a financial promotion of qualifying credit. This means that a financial promotion about credit will not usually be subject to both MCOB 3 and CONC 3 unless it is about secured and
4Guide to potential application of MCOB 3 and CONC 3 to financial promotion of credit. This table belongs to PERG 8.17.20 G.
Subject of promotion |
MCOB 3 may apply |
CONC 3 may apply |
|
(1) |
Yes |
No |
|
(2) |
credit agreements secured on land where the lender also enters into regulated mortgage contracts as lender |
Yes |
No |
(3) |
credit agreements not secured on land, whether or not the lender also enters into regulated mortgage contracts as lender |
No |
Yes |
(4) |
credit agreements secured on land where the lender does not enter into regulated mortgage contracts as lender |
No |
Yes |
(5) |
credit agreements partly secured on land that include some unsecured credit and where the lender enters into regulated mortgage contracts as lender |
Yes |
No |
(6) |
credit agreements with features as in (1), (2) or (5) promoted in combination with other unsecured credit agreements |
Yes |
Yes |
Controlled activity and controlled investment are defined in Schedule 1 to the Financial Promotion Order and are listed in PERG 8.36.3 G and PERG 8.36.4 G. Broadly speaking, controlled activities and controlled investments are similar to regulated activities and specified investments under the Regulated Activities Order. However, with controlled activities, the exclusions set out in the Regulated Activities Order do not, in most cases, apply. It is important to note, however,
The overall effect is that a financial promotion must relate in some way to a controlled investment and may be summarised as the communication, in the course of business, of an invitation or inducement to:(1) acquire, dispose of or underwrite certain investments or exercise rights conferred by such an investment for such purpose or for the purpose of converting it; or(2) receive or undertake investment services such as dealing in investments as principal or as agent, managing
So a financial promotion will not include an invitation or inducement to:(1) refrain from doing any of the things in PERG 8.7.3 G; or(2) exercise rights conferred by an investment other than to acquire, dispose of, underwrite or convert an investment.This means that most invitations or inducements to exercise voting rights will not be financial promotions.
In the FCA's opinion, section 21 will apply to a communication (made in the course of business) if it contains an invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity which is addressed to a particular person or to persons generally. Where this is the case, it will not matter that the communication may be physically delivered to someone other than the person who is intended to engage in investment activity. PERG 8.6.10 G gives more guidance on this.
Section 21(3) of the Act states that, in the case of a communication originating outside the United Kingdom, the restriction in section 21(1) applies only if it is capable of having an effect in the United Kingdom. In this respect, it is irrelevant whether the communication has an effect provided it is capable of doing so.
This appears to give a potentially broad jurisdictional scope to section 21. It seems clear that a communication which originates overseas will be capable of having an effect in the United Kingdom if it is an invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity which is communicated to a person in the United Kingdom. It would seem that communications made in other circumstances may also be capable of having an effect in the United Kingdom. However, the exemption for communications
Where communications by persons in another EEA State are made to or directed at persons in the United Kingdom account must be taken of the effect of any relevant EU Directives. For example, the E-Commerce Directive will, with limited exceptions, prevent the United Kingdom from imposing restrictions on incoming financial promotions in information society services. The Treasury has given effect to this through the Financial Promotion Order (see1PERG 8.12.38 G). Other potentially
Where collective investment schemes are concerned additional restrictions are placed on their promotion to ensure that only those which are regulated are promoted to the general public. This is achieved by a combination of sections 21 and 238 (Restrictions on promotion) of the Act as explained in PERG 8.20.2 G. A regulated collective investment scheme is:(1) an authorised unit trust scheme; or(1A) an authorised contractual scheme; or7(2) an investment company with variable capital;
Section 21 precludes the promotion by unauthorised persons of unregulated collective investment schemes unless the financial promotion is approved by an authorised person or is exempt. Section 238 then precludes the promotion of an unregulated collective investment scheme by authorised persons except where:(1) there is an exemption in an order made by the Treasury under section 238(6); or(2) the financial promotion is permitted under rules made by the FCA under section 238(5)
7(1) The Treasury has made an order under section 238(6). This is the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Promotion of Collective Investment Schemes) (Exemptions) Order 2001 (as amended by article 3 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) (Amendment) Order 2001 (SI 2001/2633), by articles 7 to 10 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) (Amendment) (Electronic Commerce Directive) Order 2002 (SI 2002/2157) and, by article
The FCA has made rules under section 238(5) which allow authorisedfirms to communicate or approve a financial promotion for an unregulated collective investment scheme in certain specified circumstances. These circumstances are set out in COBS 4.12.4 R3 To date, the Treasury has not made an order exempting single property schemes under section 239.23
The controls under the Act that apply to promotions of shares or securities by unauthorised persons are in section 21 of the Act (Restrictions on financial promotion). These controls apply where an unauthorised person makes a financial promotion in, or from, the United Kingdom that relates to the shares in or securities of any body corporate. The same controls apply regardless of whether the shares or securities being promoted are issued by a body corporate that is an open-ended
Promotions made by authorised persons in the United Kingdom are generally subject to the controls inCOBS 4 (Communicating with clients, including financial promotions).3 However, in the case of shares in, or securities of, a body corporate which is an open-ended investment company, additional controls are imposed by Chapter II of Part XVII of the Act (Restrictions on promotion of collective investment schemes) (see PERG 8.20). Section 238 of the Act (Restrictions on promotion)
There are a number of other exemptions in the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Promotion of Collective Investment Schemes) (Exemptions) Order 2001 (SI 2001/1060). In general terms, these exemptions are equivalent to the exemptions from section 21 of the Act that apply to units. There is guidance on those exemptions in PERG 8.20.3 G (Additional restriction on the promotion of collective investment schemes).
The FCA has also made rules under section 238(5) which allow authorised persons to communicate or approve a financial promotion for an open-ended investment company that is an unregulated collective investment scheme (that is, one that does not fall within PERG 9.10.4 G). The circumstances in which such a communication or approval is allowed are explained in COBS 4.12.4 R535
(1) A firm must ensure that a communication or a financial promotion is fair, clear and not misleading.(2) This rule applies in relation to:(a) a communication by the firm to a client in relation to designated investment business other than a third party prospectus;(b) a financial promotioncommunicated by the firm that is not:(i) an excluded communication;(ii) a non-retail communication;(iii) a third party prospectus; and(c) a financial promotion approved by the firm.[Note: article
A firm should ensure that a financial promotion:(1) for a product or service that places a client's capital at risk makes this clear;(2) that quotes a yield figure gives a balanced impression of both the short and long term prospects for the investment;(3) that promotes an investment or service whose charging structure is complex, or in relation to which the firm will receive more than one element of remuneration, includes the information necessary to ensure that it is fair, clear
2A communication or a financial promotion should not describe a feature of a product or service as “guaranteed”, “protected” or “secure”, or use a similar term unless:24(1) that term is capable of being a fair, clear and not misleading description of it; and(2) the firm communicates all of the information necessary, and presents that information with sufficient clarity and prominence, to make the use of that term fair, clear and not misleading.45
The purpose of this guidance is three-fold:11(1) to outline the restriction on financial promotion under section 21 of the Act (Restrictions on financial promotion) and the main exemptions from this restriction; and(2) to outline the main circumstances in which persons who are primarily involved in making or helping others to make financial promotions may be conducting regulated activities requiring authorisation or exemption themselves; this part of the guidance may also be of
In particular, this guidance covers:(1) invitations and inducements (see PERG 8.4);(2) meaning of 'in the course of business' (see PERG 8.5);(3) meaning of 'communicate' (see PERG 8.6);(4) meaning of 'engage in investment activity' (see PERG 8.7);(5) meaning of 'having an effect in the United Kingdom' (see PERG 8.8);(6) circumstances where the restriction in section 21 does not apply (see PERG 8.9);(7) types of financial promotion, including:(a) meaning of 'real time financial
The exemptions in Part V of the Financial Promotion Order concern financial promotions relating to deposits and contracts of insurance other than life policies. The exemptions may be combined with exemptions in Part IV and1 Part VI (see PERG 8.11.3 G (Types of exemption under the Financial Promotion Order).11
Part V provides two kinds of exemption of a general nature and one specific exemption. The exemptions of a general nature are:(1) any form of real time financial promotion (articles 23 (Deposits: real time communications) and 26 (Relevant insurance activity; real time communications)); and(2) non-real time financial promotions containing certain specified information including the name, country of incorporation (if relevant) and principal place of business of the deposit-taker
The test for whether the contents of a particular website may or may not involve a financial promotion is no different to any other medium. If a website or part of a website, operated or maintained in the course of business, invites or induces a person to engage in investment activity, it will be a financial promotion. The FCA takes the view that the person who caused the website to be created will be a communicator. So, any software engineers that may or may not have been involved
The Internet also allows hypertext links, where two different sites in the Internet can be connected almost instantaneously by simply clicking on the link. The FCA's1 views on the position of hypertext links (which should be read with the remainder of PERG 8, especially PERG 8.4 (Invitation or inducement)) are as follows.1(1) A hypertext link may or may not be a financial promotion in itself. This will depend on the nature of the hypertext link and the context in which it is placed.
When a firm promotes a personal pension scheme, including a group personal pension scheme, to a group of employees it must:(1) be satisfied on reasonable grounds that the scheme is likely to be at least as suitable for the majority of the employees as a stakeholder pension scheme; and(2) record why it thinks the promotion is justified.
A firm must not in a financial promotion or a communication with a customer:(1) provide an application for credit with a pre-completed amount of credit which is not based on having carried out a creditworthiness assessment or an assessment required by CONC 5.2.2R (1); or[Note: paragraph 5.3 of ILG](2) state or imply1 that providing credit is dependent solely upon the value of the equity in property on which the agreement is to be secured; or[Note: paragraph 5.4 of ILG](3) promote
The rules in this chapter adopt various concepts from the restriction on financial promotions by unauthorised persons in section 21(1) of the Act (Restrictions on financial promotion). Guidance on that restriction and the communications which are exempt from it is contained in PERG 8 (Financial promotion and related activities) and that guidance will be relevant to interpreting these rules. In particular, guidance on the meaning of:(1) 'communicate' is in PERG 8.6 (Communicate);
1For the purposes of this chapter, information or a statement included in a financial promotion or communication will not be treated as prominent unless it is presented, in relation to the other content of the financial promotion or communication, in such a way that it is likely that the attention of the average customer to whom the financial promotion or communication is directed would be drawn to it.
A person involved in insurance business written at Lloyd’s may be making financial promotions when attracting another person:(1) to effect or carry out contracts of insurance written at Lloyd’s (where the controlled activity which is the subject of the financial promotion is effecting and carrying out contracts of insurance); or(2) to have assets held under funds at Lloyd’s (where the controlled activity may involve dealing in securities and contractually based investments, arranging
Most persons making financial promotions as referred to in this section 1are likely to be authorised persons. As such they will be subject to the appropriate financial promotion rules1. Any persons who are making financial promotions as referred to in PERG 8.18.1 G and who do not need to be authorised persons will need to ensure that their financial promotions are approved by an authorised person or that a specific exemption applies (see PERG 8.13).1
(1) Subject to (2) and (3), this section applies to a firm in relation to:1(a) 1the provision of information in relation to its MiFID or equivalent third country business;222(b) the communication or approval of a financial promotion;1where such information or financial promotion is addressed to, or disseminated in such a way that it is likely to be received by, a retail client.1(2) If3 a communication relates to a firm'sMiFID or equivalent third country business, this section
If a financial promotion includes information referring to the past performance of a packaged product that is not a financial instrument2, a firm will comply with the rule on appropriate performance information (COBS 4.6.2R (2)) if the financial promotion includes, in the case of a scheme, unit-linked life policy, unit-linked personal pension scheme or unit-linked stakeholder pension scheme (other than a unitised with-profits life policy or stakeholder pension scheme) past performance
(1) A firm must ensure that information that contains an indication of future performance of relevant business, a relevant investment, a structured deposit or a financial index, satisfies the following conditions:(a) it is not based on and does not refer to simulated past performance;(b) it is based on reasonable assumptions supported by objective data;(c) it discloses the effect of commissions, fees or other charges if the indication is based on gross performance; and(d) it contains
(1) Subject to (2) and (3), this section applies to a firm in relation to:(a) the provision of information in relation to its designated investment business; and(b) the communication or approval of a financial promotion;where such information or financial promotion is addressed to, or disseminated in such a way that it is likely to be received by, a retail client.(2) If3 a communication relates to a firm's3MiFID or equivalent third country business, this section does not apply:3(a)
(1) If any information refers to a particular tax treatment, a firm must ensure that it prominently states that the tax treatment depends on the individual circumstances of each client and may be subject to change in future.[Note: article 27(7) of the MiFID implementing Directive](2) This rule applies in relation to MiFID or equivalent third country business or, otherwise, to a financial promotionfinancial promotion. However, it does not apply to a financial promotion to the extent
(1) A firm must ensure that information contained in a financial promotion is consistent with any information the firm provides to a retail client in the course of carrying on designated investment business or, in the case of MiFID or equivalent third country business, ancillary services.[Note: article 29(7) of the MiFID implementing Directive](2) This rule does not apply to a financial promotion to the extent that it relates to:(a) [deleted]22(b) a pure protection contract that
Financial promotions about relevant consumer credit or consumer hire are subject to the exemptions in Part IV of the Financial Promotion Order (Exempt communications: all controlled activities). A number of the exemptions in Part VI of the Financial Promotion Order (Exempt communications: certain controlled activities) also apply. Guidance on some of these (which apply to financial promotions about both qualifying credit and relevant consumer credit) is given in PERG 8.17.10 G
(1) Article 46A of the Financial Promotion Order exempts a communication which relates to the controlled activities of operating an electronic system in relation to lending, providing relevant consumer credit or providing consumer hire. (2) This exemption applies only if the communication: (a) indicates clearly that a person is willing to engage in the investment activity for the purposes of another person's business; and (b) does not indicate (by express words or otherwise) that
(1) A firm must make an adequate record of any financial promotion it communicates or approves, other than a financial promotion made in the course of a personal visit, telephone conversation or other interactive dialogue.(2) For a telemarketing campaign, a firm must make an adequate record of copies of any scripts used.(2A) If a firmcommunicates or approves an invitation or inducement to participate in, acquire, or underwrite a non-mainstream pooled investment which is addressed