What is a suitability report?
A suitability report is the document in which an FCA-authorised adviser must explain, in writing, why the recommendation they are making suits your circumstances, objectives and attitude to risk.
It is also where the costs of the recommendation should be set out, and it is the main evidence if you later complain that advice was unsuitable.
What it should contain
- a summary of your circumstances and objectives as the adviser understood them;
- the recommendation, and why it meets those objectives;
- the risks and disadvantages, including anything you give up;
- the costs of the advice and of any products it involves;
- for an ongoing service, what the review will involve.
Reading one
Check the facts about you are right, because the recommendation rests on them. Our guide on how to read a suitability report goes through it section by section.
Related definitions
- Initial adviser charge
- Ongoing adviser charge
- Costs and charges statement
- Independent and restricted advice
- How to read a suitability report
Sources
General information only, not regulated financial advice or a personal recommendation. FinancialAdvisor.co.uk is not authorised or regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Figures are labelled with their source and date; they describe the market, not any firm, and are not quotes. Spotted an error? Report it and we will correct it.