• Age is an issue of mind over matter, if you don’t mind it doesn’t matter.

    But if you do mind???? In my 40 years plus working in Financial Services I have seen regulation over the first 20 by LAUTRO, FIMBRA, PIA, FSA and FCA. A sign of “time before the mast” as a measure. When I started Panacea some 20 years ago, the age demographic for IFA’s was quite old,…

  • Age is an issue of mind over matter, if you don’t mind it doesn’t matter

    But if you do mind?? In my 40 years plus working in Financial Services I have seen regulation over the first 20 by LAUTRO, FIMBRA, PIA, FSA and FCA. A sign of “time before the mast” as a measure. When I started Panacea some 20 years ago, the age demographic for IFA’s was quite old,…

  • When vulnerability policies go wrong

    I have never considered myself to fit such definition but since passing 75 I am beginning to wonder if lip service is being paid by regulated firms or they have just made it more difficult for their customers?

  • The next phase of advice: building trust in a cautious market

    It looks like the UK advice market appears to be holding steady at around 31,000 since 2023, despite a 15% fall in the number of authorised firms over the same period. That is consolidation, not contraction. Large firms now account for around half of all assets under advice, with the market collectively serving more than…

  • A defining shift in retirement and platform dynamics

    I worked with Scot Eq as a City Broker consultant for about 8 years before setting up my IFA business. Heady days of enjoyment, a sense of working for an old and trusted brand where a main competitor was Standard Life.

  • Shine a Light on Adviser Pain Points

    We want adviser experience clearly heard by regulators, FOS and the wider industry in 2026. This anonymous 3–4 minute survey helps highlight pressure points and shape how we advocate and prioritise support.

  • Financial Ombudsman Service needs significant overhaul in 2026

    An article in FT Adviser on 2nd December highlights growing concern over how the Financial Ombudsman Service exercises its discretionary powers, especially around time-barred cases and inconsistent decision making. The article includes views from Panacea’s CEO, Derek Bradley who argues that firms need clearer processes, stronger independent oversight and, critically, a realistic right of appeal…

  • How will a Fos longstop impact adviser complaints?

    The debate around a statutory long-stop on advice complaints has surfaced again, with concern that advisers remain indefinitely liable for historic recommendations. In this recent FT Adviser podcast, Derek joins Alan Lakey, Director of Highclere Financial Services, to reflect on what this means in practice for firms, particularly as expectations around record-keeping, disclosure and Consumer…

  • The Psychology of Investing and Why Gender Matters in Client Behaviour

    When clients entrust advisers with their financial futures, they often believe that decisions will be objective, rational, and entirely data?driven. In reality, decisions are heavily shaped by emotions, biases, and mental frameworks. Understanding these psychological drivers, and how they differ across client groups, is essential to delivering truly personalised financial advice.

  • Financial services industry about to be treated as a milking cow- again.

    To borrow from the Sinatra classic, ‘Redress schemes, we’ve had a few, but then again too many to mention’.Back in December the FCA extended the deadline for motor finance lenders to respond to complaints regarding historic commissions paid to dealers on car loans sold to assist the sale.