Fortnightly bulletin 16th november 2016

WMA Bulletin 16th November 2016 WMA Bulletin is a fortnightly snapshot delivering the latest news and current affairs from within the wealth management industry and WMA.

What's going on in our industry?

Gilt and Treasury Bill Reference Price Provision Following the announcement last year that the Debt Management Office planned to withdraw from the provision of daily end of day gilt and Treasury bill reference prices, and following the publication of the Independent Reference Prices Review, FTSE Russell and Tradeweb have been selected to provide reference prices going forward. Further information on the solution being developed can be obtained via Tradeweb at ECS@Tradeweb.com or on 020 7776 3200.

Packaged Retail and Insurance-based Investment Products (PRIIPs) Delay The European Commission has formally announced a 12 month delay to the entry into force of PRIIPs, following the earlier rejection of the Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) by the European Parliament. The Commission has asked the European Supervisory Authorities to submit redrafted RTS to them in six weeks, after which the Commission will adopt the RTS' by the end of the year.

This would allow for publication in the Official Journal by Summer 2017, after the scrutiny period by the European Parliament and Council. The Commission has also published an amendment to the original Level 1 PRIIPs text to change the implementation date. This amendment will need to be agreed in the Parliament and Council before being published in the Official Journal.

FCA Practitioner Panel Members Meeting WMA and other trade associations met recently with Antonio Simoes and other FCA Practitioner Panel Members to discuss the current focus of the Panel and how trade associations can work with the Panel in the future. Positive discussions highlighted areas of synergy with current WMA priorities and we envisage more regular dialogue with them.

National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) The Cabinet Office and GCHQ have recently launched the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), a government agency specialised in cyber security matters. As part of their activity, NCSC is launching the Cyber Security Information Sharing Partnership (CiSP), which is “a joint industry and government initiative set up to exchange cyber threat information in real time, in a secure, confidential and dynamic environment, increasing situational awareness and reducing the impact on UK business”.

Firms can sign up to the service, which is provided free of charge. In order to sign up, firms will need a sponsor that can be either a government department, existing CiSP member, or a trade body/association. WMA is sponsoring member firms to sign up to CiSP. Signing up to CiSP is an inexpensive way to help both government and the business community manage cyber threats. If you would like to sign your firm up contact Giulia Lupato.

Prospectus Regulation Following the start of the trilogue negotiations on the Prospectus Regulation, we are continuing our engagement with the European Parliament, Commission and Council. We are actively supporting the European Parliament’s position to remove the €100,000 denomination exemption that has been inserted into the Council text. To this end our latest action has been to sign a joint letter with European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA), the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) and others to the Commission and Council exhorting them to accept the Parliamentary text. This was sent on 14th November to intercept the 15th November trilogue session. A successful outcome will help open up the corporate bond market to retail investors.

What is WMA up to?

WMA Annual Summit Our Annual Summit welcomed 400 delegates & 30 speakers, making it one of our most successful events.

Delegates heard from a host of the industry’s most prominent figures in debates, panels and presentations. The day ended with a highly acclaimed talk from the 'World's Greatest Living Explorer' Sir Ranulph Fiennes Bt OBE who also treated guests to a book signing.

WMA Annual Summit continued…

With thanks to our sponsors including:

We would like to thank everyone who attended and we hope to see even more of our members at next year's event.

IRESS Euroclear, Salesforce, Vanguard

Work with FCA Over the last few weeks WMA has had various meetings with FCA including: - The Regulatory Board Sub-Committee meeting with the FCA policy team responsible for the extension of the senior managers regime.

- WMA Board meeting with FCA CEO Andrew Bailey and Megan Butler, Director of Supervision – Investment, Wholesale and Specialists - The FCA also attended the regular MiFID II meeting for trade associations of which WMA are a member.

HMRC consultation on “Making Tax Digital: Transforming the tax system through the better use of information” On 7th November WMA responded to HMRC’s consultation seeking views on how to make more effective use of third party information to help deliver a fully digital tax service by 2020. WMA sought clarification on what is deemed to be “third party information” and “third party information providers”, whether there was scope for making use of the existing returns that investment firms are already making to HMRC (such as “other interest” returns, ISA returns, and FATCA/CRS returns), and recognising the potential burden that will fall on investment firms, particularly smaller firms with little information to report.

A copy of the WMA response can be viewed here.

WMA Millennials Report WMA have now published our findings from the 2016 Millennial Forum which can be viewed here - please note this is for members only and is password protected. Please email us if you have forgotten or do not have member log in details.

The next round of the WMA Millennial Forum will be beginning in December 2016. If representatives from member firms would like to be involved please email Noelle Buckley.

WMA Operations Committee On 3rd November the Operations Committee received the latest update on the cross-industry work in respect of account transfers and re-registrations, had a first discussion of the draft ISA Guidance Notes incorporating changes for the Lifetime ISA and gave initial feedback to a potential modification of the order of dates in respect of securities distributions and mandatory reorganisations flowing from the European Corporate Actions Joint Working Group standards.

WMA CEO Dinner The inaugural WMA CEO Dinner, sponsored by Allfunds Bank and Wealth Dynamix, saw over 60 CEOs and some senior level professionals come together at London’s Living Room, City Hall last Tuesday. Guests gathered for networking drinks before being seated for dinner on the 9th floor - boasting great late night views of the City and Tower Bridge. The evening concluded with thoughts from guest speaker Graeme Leach, CEO and Chief Economist at Macronomics.

WMA Tax Simplification Proposals Following discussions with a number of member firms WMA has now submitted our tax simplification proposals to HM Treasury. Given the continuing squeeze on Government finances we believe that our proposals - set out in this letter dated 10th November to the Chancellor of the Exchequer - will help simplify tax administration for HMRC, for investment firms and for private investors without jeopardising Government revenues or facilitating tax avoidance or evasion.

What's coming up in our industry?

UK Fund Trading Settlement Initiative Open Forum On 8th December Hogan Lovells International LLP will host an Open Forum at their offices in Atlantic House, Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2FG providing an update on the progress of the UK Fund Trading and Settlement (FTS) initiative followed by an open discussion on the key findings. The session will run from 11.30 am to 13.30 pm.

The FTS was launched in April this year to review the way mutual funds are traded and settled and the services that support this. It involves five major industry associations including the WMA. WMA member firms are welcome to nominate one delegate to attend the meeting with places being allocated on a ‘first come, first served’ basis. Please email Dee Wastnedge at TISA with the name and contact details of your nominated representative.

What's coming up in WMA? WMA Briefing Events Dublin – Glasgow – Leeds Liverpool – Newcastle November and December 2016

Join us at the WMA Briefings across the UK. These events provide member firms with information on current and upcoming UK and EU Regulatory, Business and Operational issues that the WMA are currently working on for the community. They are also a great opportunity for firms to discuss with WMA any issues affecting them and to network with industry peers.

Briefings are free to members and entitle attendees to 1.5 CPD hours. To book your place and for more information on any WMA Briefing, click on the relevant city below: Dublin – Glasgow – Leeds - Liverpool – Newcastle Alternatively, visit the WMA website here for a list of all our events.