Compliancex

An investment firm was fined £56,000 by the Financial Services Authority over its failure to maintain adequate risk management systems.

The firm’s compliance officer, Gregory White, has been fined an additional £10,000 for his role in the violations, according to FundWeb.

The firm, Accendo Markets, evidently sold high-risk investments to customers without properly ascertaining their suitability.

The FSA found the firm failed to gather adequate client information before providing advice, and failed to keep records of customers’ trading strategies. It also failed to have a robust compliance monitoring programme in place. Accendo also appointed brokers who did not hold the necessary qualification required by the FSA and failed to distinguish between execution-only and advisory trades. The FSA also found that as compliance officer White failed to comply with FSA requirements and did not exercise due skill, care and diligence.

FSA fines investment firm £56,000 over risk management failings