New version of the FSA Register - FAQs
We hope this guide is helpful and gives you an overview of the main changes we have made to the FSA Register. If you require any further information or help please contact us.
Frequently asked questions
What has changed?
We launched the new-look version of the Register on 18 August 2006. The main benefits are:
Improvements
- better response times during busy periods;
- enhanced search facilities when looking for firms and individuals;
- additional historical information regarding appointed representative firms and firms' trading names;
- improved screen layouts to take account of the Disability Discrimination Act; and
- compatibility with a broader range of web browsers and operating systems.
New features
- a 'Register News' section to keep users informed of service availability and Register developments; and
- the ability to obtain a printed copy of individual Register pages.
How do I search for a regulated firm, individual, collective investment scheme or an exempt professional firm?
When you first use the Register, the system will take you to the search screen for firms. From here you can then access the search screens for individuals, collective investment schemes and exempt professional firms by clicking on the relevant tab. You can move between the search screens by selecting the relevant tab.
How have the Register search facilities been improved?
We have made the following changes to the Register to make it easier and quicker to find a record.
- Speed of searches – we have redesigned the Register database to reduce the time it takes to complete a search.
- Sensitivity to punctuation marks – some firms, individuals and collective investment schemes have names which include punctuation/special characters (for example ! - @). It is now easier to find these names using the Register search engine.
- Individuals – an option has been added to the Individuals search screen that allows you to restrict your search to only currently 'approved' individuals (to replicate the facility which already existed for firms).
- Collective investment schemes – you can now narrow down the search for a particular scheme/sub-fund name or manager/operator/Authorised Corporate Director (ACD) by product status (e.g. recognised, authorised, terminated); by scheme type (e.g. UCITS(CIS), UCITS (COLL) etc); or by product type (e.g. authorised unit trust, offshore unit trust etc).
- Exempt professional firms – it is now possible to search for exempt professional firms on the Register by the reference number allocated to them by their designated professional body (e.g. the Law Society, the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Northern Ireland).
Are there any changes to the data displayed in the Register?
We have made some enhancements to the way data is displayed in the Register:
- Appointed Representatives – when an individual or company is registered as an Appointed Representative (AR) of an authorised firm, the authorised firm is known as the AR's Principal. The Register now shows the 'Principal' history for ARs.
- Trading name(s) of firms – in addition to its registered name, a firm may tell us its trading names. This is also the case for sole traders. In the past, when searching for a firm/sole trader, where more than one match has been found, the Register did not display any relevant trading names. Now, these are displayed in the Results Page for a firm search. For ease of use, we limit the number of trading names displayed to six and only current trading names. Where more than six names exist, the last name will be followed by "….". The full list of trading names, current and previous, is still available via a firm's record on the Register.
- Display of firm's names for a particular firm record – to make it easier to find a current trading name or a previous registered/trading name for a firm with a large number of records, the Register now sorts the names of a firm in alphabetical rather than date order. We have added a filter so the user can choose whether to display a firm's current trading names or its previous registered/trading names.
- Complaints contact details - under the Contacts section for a firm record, the Register gives the name of the person at the firm that customers can make complaints to and, where applicable, a contact(s) at the firm responsible for insurance mediation activities. It is now clearer who the contact for complaints is.
What changes have been made to account for the Disability Discrimination Act?
We have redesigned the Register to make it easier to read and navigate; and to meet the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act. The main changes relate to the way pages are designed (including fonts and colours). As a result, the Register is also compatible with a broader range of web browsers and operating systems.
How has the printing of information from the Register been improved?
With the previous version of the Register, it was not generally possible for users to obtain a print out of the information as displayed on the screen. You can now obtain a print-out of any Register screen using the standard print function of your browser.
What will the new 'Register News' section tell me?
With the previous version of the Register it was not easy to add items of news relating to the Register service or changes to the type of data on the Register. This made it difficult for us to keep users informed of developments on a timely basis. So now we plan to tell you when there are:
- planned service interruptions (other than the nightly routine to update the database);
- new regulated activities;
- new types of data added; and
- other data or functional changes.
Will I notice any improvement in the performance of the Register?
Use of the FSA Register by consumers and the financial services sector has more than trebled over the past two years. The biggest increase was after we introduced the new general insurance regulations in January 2005. During 2005, we achieved a limited improvement in performance by undertaking some work on the hardware supporting the Register. The new, redesigned Register delivers improved system performance and capacity with the aim of providing a 'good' level of performance for the next few years. You may not notice this if you tend to use the Register 'off peak', but those who use it regularly can expect faster search times during the busier times of the day (typically between 11am and 3pm).
However, even though we have improved the Register, this may not be noticeable if you are using an old computer or if you access the Register using dial-up rather than broadband.