Investment Research Expert Witness Ltd
The Investment Research Partnership
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COBS rules (from November 2007)
Items routinely held are listed in black type. Those in red type may also be available so please contact us on enquiries@ir-
APER 1.2 Purpose
APER 2.1 The Statements of Principle
APER 2.1A The Statements of Principle
APER 3.3 Factors relating to Statements of Principle 5 to 7
APER 4.1 Statement of Principle 1
APER 4.2 Statement of Principle 2
APER 4.3 Statement of Principle 3
APER 4.4 Statement of Principle 4
APER 4.5 Statement of Principle 5
APER 4.6 Statement of Principle 6
APER 4.7 Statement of Principle 7
PRIN 2.1 The Principles
COBS 1 Application
COBS 1.1 The general application rule
COBS 1 Annex 1 Application (see COBS 1.1.2R)
COBS 2 Conduct of business obligations
COBS 2.1 Acting honestly, fairly and professionally
COBS 2.2 Information disclosure before providing services
COBS 2.3 Inducements
COBS 2.4 Agent as client and reliance on others
COBS 2.5 Optional additional products
COBS 3 Client categorisation
COBS 3.1 Application
COBS 3.2 Clients
COBS 3.3 General notifications
COBS 3.4 Retail clients
COBS 3.5 Professional clients
COBS 3.6 Eligible counterparties
COBS 3.7 Providing clients with a higher level of protection
COBS 3.8 Policies, procedures and records
COBS 4 Communicating with clients, including financial promotions
COBS 4.1 Application
COBS 4.2 Fair, clear and not misleading communications
COBS 4.3 Financial promotions to be identifiable as such
COBS 4.4 Compensation information
COBS 4.5 Communicating with retail clients
COBS 4.6 Past, simulated past and future performance
COBS 4.7 Direct offer financial promotions
COBS 4.8 Cold calls and other promotions that are not in writing
COBS 4.9 Financial promotions with an overseas element
COBS 4.10 Systems and controls and approving and communicating financial promotions
COBS 4.11 Record keeping: financial promotion
COBS 4.12 Restrictions on the promotion of non-
COBS 4.13 UCITS
COBS 5 Distance communications
COBS 5.1 The distance marketing disclosure rules
COBS 5.2 E-
COBS 5 Annex 1 Distance marketing information
COBS 5 Annex 2 Abbreviated distance marketing disclosure
COBS 6 Information about the firm, its services and remuneration
COBS 6.1 Information about the firm and compensation information
COBS 6.1A Adviser charging and remuneration
COBS 6.1B Retail investment product provider and platform service provider requirements relating to
adviser charging and remuneration
COBS 6.1C Consultancy charging and remuneration
COBS 6.1D Product provider requirements relating to consultancy charging and remuneration
COBS 6.1E Platform service providers
COBS 6.1F Using a platform service for arranging and advising
COBS 6.1G Re-
COBS 6.2 Describing the breadth of a firm's personal recommendations
COBS 6.2A Describing advice services
COBS 6.3 Disclosing information about services, fees and commission – packaged products
COBS 6.4 Disclosure of charges, remuneration and commission
COBS 6 Annex 1 Initial disclosure document described in COBS 6.3.7G (1)
COBS 6 Annex 2 Combined initial disclosure document described in COBS 6.3
COBS 6 Annex 3 (Menu described in COBS 6.3)
COBS 6 Annex 4 Identifying and describing the maximum rate of commission (or equivalent), the market average and the Example
COBS 6 Annex 5 Calculation of a maximum rate of commission
COBS 6 Annex 6 Calculating commission equivalent
COBS 7 Insurance mediation
COBS 7.1 Application
COBS 7.2 Information to be provided by the insurance intermediary
COBS 8 Client agreements
COBS 8.1 Client agreements: designated investment business
COBS 9 Suitability (including basic advice)
COBS 9.1 Application and purpose provisions
COBS 9.2 Assessing suitability (KYC)
COBS 9.3 Guidance on assessing suitability
COBS 9.4 Suitability reports
COBS 9.5 Record keeping and retention periods for suitability records
COBS 9.6 Special rules for giving basic advice on a stakeholder product
COBS 9 Annex 1 Basic advice initial disclosure information
COBS 9 Annex 2 Sales processes for stakeholder products
COBS 10 Appropriateness (for non-
COBS 10.1 Application and purpose provisions
COBS 10.2 Assessing appropriateness: the obligations
COBS 10.3 Warning the client
COBS 10.4 Assessing appropriateness: when it need not be done
COBS 10.5 Assessing appropriateness: guidance
COBS 10.6 When a firm need not assess appropriateness
COBS 10.7 Record keeping and retention periods for appropriateness records
COBS 11 Dealing and managing
COBS 11.1 Application
COBS 11.2 Best execution
COBS 11.3 Client order handling
COBS 11.4 Client limit orders
COBS 11.5 Record keeping: client orders and transactions
COBS 11.6 Use of dealing commission
COBS 11.7 Personal account dealing
COBS 11.8 Recording telephone conversations and electronic communications
COBS 12 Investment research
COBS 12.1 Purpose and application
COBS 12.2 Investment research
COBS 12.3 Non-
COBS 12.4 Research recommendations: required disclosures
COBS 13 Preparing product information
COBS 13.1 The obligation to prepare product information
COBS 13.2 Product information: production standards, form and contents
COBS 13.3 Contents of a key features document
COBS 13.4 Contents of a key features illustration
COBS 13.5 Preparing product information: other projections
COBS 13.6 Preparing product information: changes to adviser and consultancy charges
COBS 13 Annex 1 The Consolidated Life Directive Information
COBS 13 Annex 2 Projections
COBS 13 Annex 3 Charges information for a packaged product
COBS 13 Annex 4 Charges information for a personal pension scheme and a stakeholder pension
COBS 14 Providing product information to clients
COBS 14.1 Interpretation
COBS 14.2 Providing product information to clients
COBS 14.3 Information about designated investments
COBS 14.4 Provision of information by an intermediate Unitholder
COBS 14 Annex 1 Lifetime ISA information
COBS 15 Cancellation
COBS 15.1 Application
COBS 15.2 The right to cancel
COBS 15.3 Exercising a right to cancel
COBS 15.4 Effects of cancellation
COBS 15.5 Special situations
COBS 15 Annex 1 Exemptions from the right to cancel
COBS 16 Reporting information to clients
COBS 16.1 General client reporting requirement
COBS 16.2 Occasional reporting
COBS 16.3 Periodic reporting
COBS 16.4 Statements of client designated investments or client money
COBS 16.5 Quotations for surrender values
COBS 16.6 Life insurance contracts – communications to clients
COBS 16 Annex 1R Trade confirmation and periodic information
COBS 16 Annex 2R Information to be included in a Periodic report
COBS 17 Claims handling for long-
COBS 17.1 Providing information to claimants and dealing with claims and warranties in policies
COBS 18 Specialist Regimes
COBS 18.1 Trustee Firms
COBS 18.2 Energy market activity and oil market activity
COBS 18.3 Corporate finance business
COBS 18.4 Stock lending activity
COBS 18.5 Operators of collective investment schemes
COBS 18.6 Lloyd's
COBS 18.7 Depositaries
COBS 18.8 OPS firms -
COBS 18.9 ICVCs
COBS 18.10 UCITS qualifiers and service companies
COBS 18.11 Authorised professional firms
COBS 19 Pensions supplementary provisions
COBS 19.1 Pension transfers and opt-
COBS 19.2 Personal pensions, FSAVCs and AVCs
COBS 19.3 Product disclosure to members of occupational pension schemes
COBS 19.4 Open market options
COBS 19.5 Independent governance committees (IGCs)
COBS 19.6 Restriction on charges in qualifying schemes
COBS 19.6A Restrictions on early exit charges in personal pension schemes and stakeholder pension schemes
COBS 19.7 Retirement risk warnings
COBS 19 Annex 1 Retirement risk warnings -
COBS 19 Annex 2 Communications about options to access pension savings
COBS 20 With-
COBS 20.1 Application
COBS 20.1A The with-
COBS 20.2 Treating with-
COBS 20.3 Principles and Practices of Financial Management
COBS 20.4 Communications with with-
COBS 20.5 With-
COBS 21 Permitted Links
COBS 21 Permitted Links
COBS 21.1 Application
COBS 21.2 Principles for firms engaged in linked long-
COBS 21.3 Rules for firms engaged in linked long-
COBS 22 Restrictions on the distribution of certain regulatory capital instruments
COBS 22.1 Temporary restrictions on contingent convertible instruments [expired]
COBS 22.2 Restrictions on the retail distribution of mutual society shares
COBS 22.3 Restrictions on the retail distribution of contingent convertible instruments and CoCo funds
COBS TP 1 Transitional Provisions relating to Client Categorisation
COBS TP 2 Other Transitional Provisions
COBS Sch 1 Record keeping requirements
COBS Sch 2 Notification requirements
COBS Sch 3 Fees and other required payments
COBS Sch 4 Powers exercised
COBS Sch 5 Rights of action for damages
COBS Sch 6 Rules that can be waived