DFSA's Classification & Suitability Recommendations

"DFSA Publishes Findings of Client Classification and Suitability Review." Much of the content of this Report is known to and accepted by the market, however certain clarifications have been made by the DFSA regarding the recording of suitability recommendations, ensuring Clients are appropriately classified, and to confirm that self-certifications are not acceptable.

A somewhat more debatable issue is the "is it suitable to exclude suitability" question which the regulator wishes to apply, given that industry practices for professional clients is that they take independent legal advice on contract clauses, which would include suitability. The DFSA's view that it would not be acceptable to merely include an exclusion in a contract has legal ramifications which are difficult to test at this stage, and little caselaw exists (as the Khorafi case was distinguished on the facts in that the clients were found to be Retail).

The Report is available at http://www.dfsa.ae/CMSPages/GetFile.aspx?guid=1b6dfb0e-ba8f-4ff7-94ce-6615d4a61cd6