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What activities are covered by a DPB licence?
Category: ICAEW & RQ
A DPB licence from ICAEW covers several regulated investment business activities: <strong>Advising on investments</strong> – providing recommendations to clients about specific investments or investment strategies. <strong>Arranging deals in investments</strong> – facilitating transactions in investments on behalf of clients. <strong>Managing investments</strong> – making discretionary investment decisions for clients. <strong>Safeguarding and administering investments</strong> – holding or managing client assets. <strong>Sending dematerialised instructions</strong> – electronic transfer instructions for investments, typically through CREST (the UK's settlement system for share transfers). <strong>Important conditions:</strong> The licence allows these activities only when they are <strong>incidental to and arising out of</strong> your main professional services as an accountant. Activities must comply with the ICAEW DPB Handbook requirements, including the Conduct of Business Code in Part 4. Schedule 1 of Part 3 in the DPB Handbook lists activities that can <strong>only</strong> be conducted by FCA-authorised firms and cannot be performed under a DPB licence.