1.3) Activities Subject to COBS

Question 1

What activities are subject to COBS?

Answer 1

• designated investment business
• long-term insurance business in relation to life policies
• accepting deposits - in part, eg, (financial promotion rules, and rules on preparing and providing product information)

Question 2

What COBS rules are dis-applied for firms carrying on eligible counter-party business?

Answer 2

• a large part of COBS 2 (general conduct of business obligations)
• Much of COBS 4 (communicating with clients - including financial promotion)
• COBS 6.1 (provision of information about the firm, its services and its remuneration)
• COBS 8 (client agreements)
• COBS 10 (appropriateness - for non-advised services)
• certain parts of COBS 11 (best execution and client order handling)
• parts of COBS 12 (labelling of non-independent research)
• COBS 14.3 (information relating to designated investments)

Question 3

COBS 11.4 (client limit orders)

Answer 3

• members and participants in a regulated market do not have to comply with COBS 11.4 in respect of each other but they must comply when they are executing orders on a clients behalf