FCA raises concerns about advisers' platform due diligence

Platform due diligence is lacking

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has demanded advisers improve their due diligence processes after it found inconsistencies in the way some firms researched the products and services they recommend - especially platforms.

In its latest due diligence review the regulator found advisers were generally able to demonstrate good practice on the work they did to better understand the quality of the products and services they recommend. But it added many firms did not show consistently good practice across all products and services and there was room for further improvement. Advisers were failing particularly in their due diligence of platforms where "many firms demonstrated inconsistent and insufficient research and due diligence in the selection of platforms," it said. The regulator commissioned a past b...