More than 500 personal finance professionals have signed up to the Chartered Insurance Institute’s new pension transfer qualification in the first week since launch.

The FCA’s Upper Tribunal has upheld the regulator’s decision to ban Charles Palmer, the former chief executive of Financial Limited and Investments Limited, from performing FCA significant influence functions.

The Financial Conduct Authority last month identified a number of pension areas where ‘intervention’ may be necessary following the introduction of the pension freedoms in April 2015.

Just 14% of finance firms believe the FCA is communicating effectively with them over Brexit.

The FCA Practitioner Panel survey of 2,080 companies published the finding today.

It asked firms if they agreed with the statement ‘The FCA is communicating effectively with firms on the process of preparing to exit the EU’.

Some 33% disagreed and 53% answered either ‘neither agree nor disagree’ or ‘Don’t know’.

The panel’s report stated: “These responses presumably reflect the fact that there is very little information available at this stage about how post-Brexit regulation will be set up.

“It was clear from the results that few respondents agreed that the FCA is currently communicating effectively on Brexit.

“Clearly there is more work to be done in this area, and the panel is encouraging the FCA to communicate directly with firms on an ongoing basis, even although specific details of post-Brexit regulation may not yet be clear and the message is that firms should continue, as far as they can, with business as usual.”

The latest Financial Planning Today magazine is out and available to read below...https://t.co/BBvoXy7IWj pic.twitter.com/wOeisaeG7P

— FP Today Magazine (@FPTodayMagazine) July 17, 2017

All firms were asked what they consider the FCA’s objectives should be during the process of exiting the EU, and were invited to provide their response in an open-text question.

Just over one in ten firms said that they would like to see the FCA minimise upheaval/ disruption/ change (13%) and provide clear guidance about new regulation/ change to regulation (12%), suggesting that many firms are primarily concerned with ensuring stability and clarity.

Fixed firms were more likely than flexible firms to want the FCA to ensure rules/ regulations are consistent with the rest of Europe (21% vs. 4%), and ensure access to the single market (14% vs. 4%).

Across different sectors, the most notable difference was among investment management firms, the authors of the report said.

One in ten IM firms (11%) would like to see the FCA maintain or improve ‘passporting’ between the UK and the EU, compared with 4% of all firms.

FCA practitioner panel report published today showed responses from firms on Brexit pic.twitter.com/2MLiJleMFj

— FP Today Magazine (@FPTodayMagazine) August 3, 2017