We'd like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum. This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are - or become - political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.

Help - Financial advisors/planners personal share dealing rules

Hi

I'm a fairly young guy who has his own investment portfolio and am considering a career in financial advice.

I'm just wondering whether anyone knows the specific rules on holding your own investment portfolio while working in financial advice / paraplanner? Will I have to sell my portfolio to avoid any conflicts of interest?
Current Savings - £4,537 / £10,000 - Dec '14 Target Savings :beer:

"Give me a one-handed economist! All my economists say, 'on the one hand on the other..'" Harry. S. Truman

Comments

  • dunstonh
    dunstonh Posts: 117,982 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    'm just wondering whether anyone knows the specific rules on holding your own investment portfolio while working in financial advice / paraplanner? Will I have to sell my portfolio to avoid any conflicts of interest?

    There are no rules in that front as you are not investing in yourself but third parties.
    I am an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA). The comments I make are just my opinion and are for discussion purposes only. They are not financial advice and you should not treat them as such. If you feel an area discussed may be relevant to you, then please seek advice from an Independent Financial Adviser local to you.
  • Thanks for the reply. However, surely the FSA have a rule regarding potentially unruly people pushing investments they are personally invested in their to clients to boost their own companies share prices, which I assume is illegal.

    I am just wondering whether/how I can manage my investments while working in the industry. Do you have to inform the FSA of your investments?
    Current Savings - £4,537 / £10,000 - Dec '14 Target Savings :beer:

    "Give me a one-handed economist! All my economists say, 'on the one hand on the other..'" Harry. S. Truman
  • dunstonh
    dunstonh Posts: 117,982 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    However, surely the FSA have a rule regarding potentially unruly people pushing investments they are personally invested in their to clients to boost their own companies share prices, which I assume is illegal.

    You are not personally involved in those investments though. You are just a retail client like the rest. Now if you happened to be putting money in non-regulated schemes run by yourself then that is a whole different ball game.
    Do you have to inform the FSA of your investments?

    No.
    I am an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA). The comments I make are just my opinion and are for discussion purposes only. They are not financial advice and you should not treat them as such. If you feel an area discussed may be relevant to you, then please seek advice from an Independent Financial Adviser local to you.
  • payless
    payless Posts: 6,957 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    If you are working for an invetsment house, say on Mergers then your personal portfolio may be an issue. ( doesn't mean you can't have one though)

    If you are advising on individual shares ( so less IFA, more stock broker) than you can't deal "ahead" of clients... although thats likely only an issue if dealing/ advising on stocks will low liquidity or if your dealings are high volume.

    If you use CFD/ spread betting then the firm should be told if you are FSA regulated and they will liekly send a transaction log to your compliance officer ( at firm, not FSA unless they have concerns)
    Any posts on here are for information and discussion purposes only and shouldn't be seen as (financial) advice.
This discussion has been closed.
Meet your Ambassadors

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 346.6K Banking & Borrowing
  • 251.4K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 451.4K Spending & Discounts
  • 238.8K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 614.3K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 174.8K Life & Family
  • 252K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 16K Discuss & Feedback
  • 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.