Citation, commencement and interpretation

1. —(1) This Order may be cited as the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities)(Amendment)(No.2) Order 2004, and comes into force on 6th April 2005.

(2) In this Order—

“the Act” means the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000;

“the principal Order” means the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) Order 2001( 2 ).

Amendment of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) Order 2001

2. The principal Order is amended as follows.

Providing basic advice on stakeholder products

3. After article 52A of the principal Order, insert—

“ CHAPTER XIA PROVIDING BASIC ADVICE ON STAKEHOLDER PRODUCTS

The activity

Providing basic advice on stakeholder products

52B. —(1) Providing basic advice to a retail consumer on a stakeholder product is a specified kind of activity.

(2) For the purposes of paragraph (1), a person (“P”) provides basic advice when—

(a) he asks a retail consumer questions to enable him to assess whether a stakeholder product is appropriate for that consumer; and

(b) relying on the information provided by the retail consumer P assesses that a stakeholder product is appropriate for the retail consumer and—

(i) describes that product to that consumer;

(ii) gives a recommendation of that product to that consumer; and

(c) the retail consumer has indicated to P that he has understood the description and the recommendation in sub-paragraph (b).

(3) In this article—

“retail consumer” means any person who is advised by P on the merits of opening or buying a stakeholder product in the course of a business carried on by P and who does not receive the advice in the course of a business carried on by him;

“stakeholder product” means—

“relevant stakeholder pension scheme” means a stakeholder pension scheme within the meaning given by section 1 of the Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999 ( 4 ) and which is subject to lifestyling, and

“lifestyling” means the process, applied from a date at least five years before the member’s retirement date, or, in the case of a member who joins the scheme less than five years before his retirement date, immediately after he becomes a member, and continuing until the member’s retirement date, by which an investment strategy is adopted by the trustees or manager which aims progressively to minimise the variation or potential variation in the value of the member’s rights caused by market conditions from time to time, and the words “member” and “scheme” have the same meaning as they have in the Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999;

Transitional provisions

4. —(1) Part 4 of the Act shall apply in the case of persons who have permission at the date this Order comes into force to carry out the activity specified in article 53 of the principal Order and who wish to carry out the activity specified in article 52B of that Order as follows.

(2) Where P is a person to whom paragraph (1) applies—

(a) the procedures established under sections 44 and 45 in respect of application for permission shall not apply in respect of permission to carry out the article 52B activity,

(b) P shall be deemed to have such a permission if he has notified the Authority in writing of his wish to undertake the activity and the Authority has acknowledged receipt of P’s notification in writing from the date of the acknowledgement.

Supplemental amendments of secondary legislation

5. —(1)The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Appointed Representatives) Regulations 2001( 5 ) are amended as follows.

(2) In regulation 2(1) (descriptions of business for which appointed representatives are exempt) after sub-paragraph (b) insert—

“ (ba) an activity of the kind specified by article 52B of that Order (providing basic advice on stakeholder products); ” .

(3)The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Professions) (Non-Exempt Activities) Order 2001( 6 ) is amended as follows.

(4) In article 4 after paragraph (e) insert—

“ (ea) article 52B (providing basic advice on stakeholder products); ” .