ASIC will start to take action against advisers who fail to meet their Fee Disclosure Statement (FDS) obligations after it removed the limited warning system that has been in use since the start of the Future of Financial Advice (FoFA) reforms.
The regulator said the three limited no-action positions it had previously taken would no longer apply after it released an updated Regulatory Guide 245 relating to FDS’s, adding that no-action positions were previously applied as advisers transitioned to meeting their FDS obligations, which had now been in place since 1 July 2013.
ASIC stated the updated guide included technical amendments to the FoFA legislation since the previous version of RG 245 was released in March 2013, and the removal of the no action policy.
The regulator reminded advisers that FDS obligations had to be met by those who have an ongoing fee arrangement with a retail client and advisers had to provide the client with an annual FDS setting out the fees paid by the client, the services provided to the client, and the services that the client was entitled to receive.
