Governance & Independence
Structure
Board of Directors
Strategy, policies and oversight
Independent Review Committee
Reviews of outcomes and membership decisions
Claims & Resolution
Complaint assessment and resolution
Membership & Compliance
Applications, annual reviews, certificates
Investor Support
Guidance and case updates for investors
Membership & Compliance and Claims & Resolution report separately to the Board. Neither can direct the work of the other.
Roles
The Board is responsible for the strategy, finances and integrity of GFCRS as a whole. It approves the Membership Standards, the complaint rules and the key policies, and appoints the members of the Independent Review Committee.
Independence
Membership work and complaint handling are carried out by different departments with separate reporting lines. Staff who sell, assess or renew memberships do not decide complaints.
Membership fees are recorded and managed separately from complaint handling. No case handler or Committee member is paid, rewarded or assessed by reference to the fees of any firm or the outcome of any case.
Every member firm is bound by the same complaint rules, whatever its size or the fees it pays. A firm cannot buy a different process or a different outcome.
Either side can ask the Independent Review Committee to review an outcome. The Committee reviews the case afresh and was not involved in the original assessment.
Every status change, decision and certificate action is recorded with the person responsible and the time. These records support internal review and external audit.
Our standards, our process and the membership status of every member firm are published, and any certificate can be checked online.
Policy summary
Everyone who works for or with GFCRS (directors, Committee members, staff and contractors) must avoid situations where their personal interests could affect, or appear to affect, their work. In summary:
The Committee reviews complaint outcomes when either the investor or the firm asks for a review, and decides cases referred to it because they are complex or raise a point of principle. It also reviews decisions to refuse, suspend or end a firm's membership.
Case handlers in this department assess each complaint, gather evidence from the investor and the firm, work towards an agreed settlement and, where none is reached, record a reasoned outcome.
This department assesses applications against the Membership Standards, carries out the annual review of every member, issues and withdraws membership certificates and monitors members between reviews.
Investor Support is the first point of contact for investors. The team explains the process, helps people prepare and submit their complaint, and keeps them informed while the case is open.
The full rules are set out in our Conflict of Interest Policy.