Publication
Global rules on foreign direct investment (FDI)
Cross-border acquisitions and investments increasingly trigger foreign direct investment (FDI) screening requirements.
United Kingdom | Publication | August 2023
From July 31, 2023, the FCA’s Consumer Duty starts to take effect for firms regulated by the FCA.
Only firms conducting FCA-regulated activities in the UK are subject to the Duty, which means that most occupational scheme trustees are unlikely to be directly affected. An exception is where very large schemes have in-house investment teams that are subject to FCA regulation and provide investment services to the trustees. The new Duty will also introduce a new layer of protection for members whose benefits have been subject to a bulk purchase annuity exercise, as it apples to the insurers with whom trustees transact.
However, it is likely that managers of contract-based pensions will feel the impact of the Duty sooner than trustees of most occupational schemes.
Nevertheless, where trustees have appointed FCA-regulated firms to assist with running any aspect of the scheme, they should seek clarity on how the Duty will affect the service they are receiving. One area where the Duty is likely to bite is in the provision of investment advice, where the provider will have a duty to the scheme’s members as the ultimate “retail customers”. The FCA-regulated firm must consider how its product or service complies with the new requirements and adapt it if necessary.
Trustees will need to liaise with their FCA-regulated service providers and assess whether any changes are needed to their member communications.
Publication
Cross-border acquisitions and investments increasingly trigger foreign direct investment (FDI) screening requirements.
Publication
On February 2, 2024, the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union confirmed that the Committee of Permanent Representatives had signed the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Regulation, referred to as the AI Act. Approval by the EU Parliament followed on 13 March 2024, and the AI Act is likely to appear in the EU’s Official Journal around May 2024. The AI Act aims to establish a stringent legal framework governing the development, marketing, and utilisation of artificial intelligence within the region, thereby marking a significant advancement in the regulation of this burgeoning domain.
Publication
The EU’s Artificial Intelligence Regulation, commonly referred to as the AI Act, is expected to come into force during the summer of 2024 (the AI Act). The AI Act will be the first comprehensive legal framework for the use and development of artificial intelligence (AI), and is intended to ensure that AI systems developed and used in the EU are safe, transparent, traceable, non-discriminatory and environmentally friendly.
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