Disclosure
Our conduct of business rules impose disclosure requirements on firms when selling certain retail investment products (there are also similar obligations when selling mortgages and general insurance).
These disclosures typically cover details of the service the firm offers and the cost of this service.
Financial advisers are required to provide information to their clients about their status, the nature of their advice and how they are paid.
On 6 August 2008, a new disclosure document – the services and costs disclosure document (SCDD) was introduced into COBS guidance, replacing the initial disclosure document (IDD) and Menu.
From 6 August 2008, firms have a number of options regarding initial disclosure. Specifically, firms have the choice of:
- Developing their own disclosure material giving careful consideration to the rule-based requirements in relation to their own business models; or
- Using the SCDD or the combined initial disclosure document (CIDD), which will allow them to satisfy a number of COBS requirements; or
- Continue using the IDD and menu until the end of the transitional period on 31 August 2009.
Regardless of which option firms choose, they will need to ensure that they communicate information to clients in a way which is fair, clear and not misleading.
For firms who wish to use the SCDD or CIDD, the following resources may be of assistance These resources are designed to be used together with the Notes in the relevant COBS 6 Annex (SCDD: COBS 6 Annex 1G [PDF], CIDD: COBS 6 Annex 2 [PDF]) – so firms will need to refer to the Notes when drafting their documents. The Notes provide important information and instructions to help firms complete their document properly and to ensure it complies with our rules.
| Templates for the SCDD and CIDD | |
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Templates for the SCDD and CIDD are available for download from this page. These are saved as Microsoft Word files that firms can customise. Firms using the SCDD and CIDD templates will need to refer to the Notes (see Notes for completion below) to help them complete their document properly and to ensure it complies with our rules. The templates include cross-references to these Notes – and firms should omit these cross-references, and any square brackets, from the documents they produce. |
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| Retail investment services and costs disclosure document (SCDD) [DOC] | COBS 6 Annex 1G [PDF] |
| Combined initial disclosure document (CIDD) [DOC] | COBS 6 Annex 2 [PDF] |
| Build your own disclosure documents | |
|---|---|
You can use our web tools to help you put together your disclosure document using our templates. You will need to refer to the Notes in the relevant COBS 6 Annex (SCDD: COBS 6 Annex 1G, CIDD: COBS 6 Annex 2) to help you complete your document properly and to ensure it complies with our rules. |
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| Build your own SCDD | COBS 6 Annex 1G [PDF] |
| Build your own CIDD | COBS 6 Annex 2 [PDF] |
