A legal challenge has been made against our decision to set up a redress scheme for former British Steel Pension Scheme (BSPS) members. The challenge has been made by a number of pension advisory firms that are members of the British Steel Action Group and advised by FS Law (also known as FS Legal Solicitors...
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Thematic review of retirement income advice
This review is a piece of discovery work to explore how financial adviser firms deliver retirement income advice and assess the quality of outcomes consumers get. What has prompted this work The introduction of the Government’s pension freedom reforms has changed how consumers access their retirement savings. Given the wider range of retirement options available,...
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23-008MR Midway Limited pays $33,000 infringement notice penalty for alleged continuous disclosure breach
Australian wood-fibre processor and exporter Midway Limited has paid a $33,000 infringement notice over ASIC concerns that it failed to comply with its continuous disclosure obligations. ASIC issued the infringement notice following an investigation into announcements made by Midway on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). ASIC alleges that on 11 February 2022, Midway became aware...
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COSTS OF RETAIL INVESTMENT PRODUCTS CONTINUE SLOW DECLINE
Verena Ross, ESMA Chair, said: “Investors are faced with an environment of high economic uncertainty, high inflation, and relatively low market performance. In this context, the high costs of certain investment products, particularly for retail investors, raise concerns about actual investment outcomes.” “ESMA’s reporting on the cost and performance of retail investment products provides an...
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ESMA AND NCAS TO LOOK AT MARKETING OF FINANCIAL PRODUCTS
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s financial markets regulator and supervisor, is launching a common supervisory action (CSA) with national competent authorities (NCAs) on the application of MiFID II disclosure rules with regard to marketing communications across the European Union (EU). The CSA will be conducted over the course of 2023. ESMA...
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EUROPEAN SUPERVISORY AUTHORITIES IDENTIFY GOOD PRACTICES FOR FINANCIAL EDUCATION INITIATIVES ON SCAMS, FRAUD AND CYBER SECURITY
The three European Supervisory Authorities (EBA, EIOPA and ESMA – ESAs) published today a joint thematic Report on national financial education initiatives on digitalisation, with a focus on cybersecurity, scams, and fraud. The Report identifies good practices that national competent authorities and other public entities can follow when designing and implementing their financial education initiatives....
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Indigo Michael Limited (trading as Tappily and SafetyNet) enters administration
On 9 January 2023, Indigo Michael Limited, trading as Tappily and SafetyNet, went into administration. Joseph O’Connor, Clare Kennedy, and Simon Appell of AlixPartners UK LLP were appointed Joint Administrators. Indigo Michael Limited, trading as Tappily and SafetyNet, is a high-cost lender which provides customers with running account credit facilities; these are credit agreements with...
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Interim stop order placed on the Pivotal Diversified Fund
ASIC has issued an interim stop order preventing Vasco Responsible Entity Services Limited (Vasco) from offering or distributing the Pivotal Diversified Fund to retail investors because of deficiencies in the target market determination (TMD). The interim order stops Vasco from issuing interests in, giving a product disclosure statement for, or providing general advice to retail...
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ASIC issues infringement notices to energy company for greenwashing
ASIC has taken action for greenwashing against listed energy company Black Mountain Energy Limited (BME). BME has paid $39,960 to comply with three infringement notices issued by ASIC in relation to concerns about alleged false or misleading sustainability-related statements made to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) between 23 December 2021 and 8 September 2022. ASIC...
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Scam alert: Fake bill and loan discounts
ASIC is alerting investors about an impersonation scam using email and cold-calling tactics Scammers are making fake offers of 30% discounts on bills and loan repayments Unless you are dealing directly with the service provider, discount billing and upfront payment offers are often scams. Background Scammers are using free email services to falsely impersonate a...
Civil rights law practice area legal advice is the application of abstract principles of law to the concrete facts of the client’s case.