How we check what we publish

Every statutory claim cites a primary source

Not a summary of a summary. Where a guide says the Code requires something, it names the provision and links the document the provision lives in — so you can read it yourself and disagree with us.

1. 01The FAIS Act: the signed Act as published in Government Gazette 24079 of 15 November 2002, on gov.za.
2. 02The General Code of Conduct: Board Notice 80 of 2003 as amended to Board Notice 706 of 26 June 2020. The FSCA does not publish a consolidated copy, so we link a consolidated text hosted by a commercial compliance provider and say so in the citation.
3. 03The FAIS Ombud: the Ombud Council Rules made in 2024 under section 201 of the Financial Sector Regulation Act, and published determinations.
4. 04The regulator: the FSCA’s own site for its own record — including that the Financial Services Board ceased to exist on 31 March 2018.
5. 05Where a case matters, the judgment: SAFLII or the court’s own publication.

Every guide carries the date it was last read against the law

The line at the top of each guide is not a publication date that never moves. It is the date a person last read that page against the current text of the provisions it cites.

1. 01A guide with an old date is not necessarily wrong — most of this law does not move quickly — but it tells you how fresh the check is, which a page with no date does not.
2. 02When we correct something substantive, the date moves and the correction is described rather than silently swapped.
3. 03The sources block at the foot of every guide lists exactly what was read. If a claim on the page is not covered by something in that list, that is a defect and we want to hear about it.

What we do when the law moves

Two real examples, both of which are live on this site, because they show the failure mode this standard exists to catch — a page that was correct when written and is now quietly wrong.

What these guides deliberately do NOT do

1. 01They do not give legal or compliance advice. They describe what a provision says; whether it applies to your client, your licence category or your file is a question for you or your compliance officer.
2. 02They do not replace reading the Code. Every guide links it for that reason.
3. 03They do not describe our product as a compliance guarantee. Broker AI drafts documents; the advice, and the responsibility for it, stays with the licensed FSP.

Telling us we are wrong

This is the part that makes the rest of the page mean anything. If a section number, an effective date, a figure or a characterisation of a provision is wrong, we want to fix it rather than defend it.

1. 01Email admin@brokerai.co.za with the page, the sentence, and what you believe the correct position is. A provision reference is enough — you do not need to write it up.
2. 02We check it against the primary source, not against our own page.
3. 03If it is wrong we correct it and move the reviewed date. If we think the page is right, we will tell you why and point at the provision, so you can push back.
4. 04Corrections to a statutory claim take priority over everything else we are publishing.

Frequently asked questions

Who writes the FAIS guides on this site?

The Broker AI team, in Cape Town. We are a software company, not a law firm or a compliance consultancy — which is why every statutory claim on this site is sourced and linked rather than asserted on our authority.

What does the "Reviewed" date on a guide mean?

It is the date that page was last read against the current text of the provisions it cites — not the date it was first published. When a substantive correction is made, the date moves.

How do I report an error?

Email admin@brokerai.co.za with the page and the sentence you think is wrong. We check it against the primary source; if it is wrong we correct it and move the reviewed date, and if we think it is right we will tell you which provision we are relying on.

Is this legal advice?

No. These guides describe what the FAIS Act and the General Code say, with the sources linked. Whether a provision applies to your client, your licence category or your file is a question for you or your compliance officer.

This page describes how the FAIS guides on this site are sourced and maintained. It is not legal or compliance advice, and Broker AI (Pty) Ltd is not a licensed financial services provider.

Sources

1. 01Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act 37 of 2002 — the signed Act, Government Gazette 24079 of 15 November 2002
2. 02General Code of Conduct, Board Notice 80 of 2003 as amended to Board Notice 706 of 26 June 2020 (consolidated text hosted by Masthead, a commercial compliance provider; the FSCA publishes no consolidated copy)
3. 03Ombud Council Rules for the FAIS Ombud, 2024 — made under section 201 of the Financial Sector Regulation Act 9 of 2017
4. 04Financial Sector Conduct Authority, annual reports — the regulator’s own record that the Financial Services Board ceased to exist on 31 March 2018