Industry news and views from Panacea and our partners.
Regulation_
Have you ever been to electric shadyland
In May I switched my gas and electricity supplier from Scottish Power to Affect Energy. Affect is shown on many comparison sites, with good reviews and prices but at the time of my switch decision the actual switch process had to be done direct with Affect.
Panacea Adviser survey: 99% of advisers left in the dark on FCA accountability
Under 1% of advisers believe they have a proper understanding of what the regulator is accountable for, or how it is accountable, du e to the FCAs poor communication with the industry, according to exclusive research from Panacea Adviser.
Mifid 2 and financial services marketing
What do you see as the impact of MIFID 2 on marketing practices and processes, especially in relation to marketing service agreements in 2018. Thoughts and perspectives on your expectations of providers or indeed any provider perspectives would be welcome.
Just: Defining a vulnerable client
Vulnerability can appear in many guises. Some are easy to identify such as physical disability, whilst others may be subtler like loss of mental capacity. With the FCA directing advisers to treat vulnerable clients with appropriate levels of care, weve identified key indicators to help you.
FCA clarity will help advice move forward
It is an exciting time in the retail advice sector. The FCA appears to be fully engaged in considering the advice gap and how to fill it, and its initiatives are (broadly) being welcomed by the profession.
APFA/WMA merger: Do advisers care anymore?
Last week, we learnt that APFA was to merge with the Wealth Managers Association. The announcement seemed to catch advisers and the press by surprise, but what does it mean for impartial financial advisers.
How much has the shiny new logo cost this time?
In 2013, a Panacea FOI request exposed the rebrand cost for the FSAs change to the FCA. It was £1,061,423 including VAT.
Prudential: Addressing key regulatory concerns for advisers
Prudential are delighted to have Rory Percival, from Training and Consultancy and formerly the FCA, presenting on a webex some of the topical regulatory issues currently facing advisers. The webex is taking place on 11 April.
Addressing key regulatory concerns for advisers
Prudential are delighted to have Rory Percival, from Training and Consultancy and formerly the FCA, presenting on a webex some of the topical regulatory issues currently facing advisers. The webex is taking place on 11 April.
Prudential: Addressing key regulatory concerns for advisers
Prudential are delighted to have Rory Percival presenting on some of the topical regulatory issues currently facing advisers.
The Pensions Regulator: steps up steps up inspections with spot check on employers
Spot checks are to be carried out on employers across the UK to make sure they are complying with their workplace pensions duties. While compliance remains in the high nineties and workplace saving is now the norm, TPR will continue to build on this success through its communications, intelligence gathering and enforcement work.
Weve got to start thinking beyond our guns- those days are closing fast
When contemplating the future of the financial advice industry, I cant help but be reminded of the late sixties movie The Wild Bunch. Set in 1913 Texas, the film follows an ageing gang of outlaws looking for one final score as the traditional American West disappears around them.
Whats your duty of care on past advice?
Alan Hughes, a partner at Foot Anstey, explains how a recent High Court case, Denning v Greenhalgh Financial Services Limited, has provided some useful guidance on the scope of retainers and how this may impact on the duties an adviser may owe in respect of advice given to a client by a previous firm.
Compliance and the Stupidity Paradox
Compliance is an important part of the whole world of financial services and indeed many other worlds of business and governments.
FOS focuses on complainant age
The latest edition of Ombudsman News looks at the types of complaints FOS addresses from people under 25. PPI is not a concern for them, with the majority of millennial and post millennial complaints relating to packaged and current bank accounts (babyboomers make the same proportion of complaints on packaged bank accounts, with Generation X making even more).
FCAs Asset Management Market Study Interim Report
This very special Transparency Symposium is dedicated to the FCA's Asset Management Market Study Interim Report
Libertatem successfully uses video to recruit more members
Grab a coffee, pull up a chair, and spend 30 minutes listening to the reasons why you need an effective trade association. We've made a short video that we would love you to watch explaining why there has never been a greater need or indeed, a better time for an effective trade association. For those with a short attention span, we've also produced an abridged version lasting less than four minutes. All we ask is that you take the time to watch either one of them, then decide for yourself if Libertatem is for you.
IFAS and other professionals uniting on costs disclosure
The Transparency Task Force was created following a meeting in London in May 2015, when a group of financial services professionals met and agreed that more ought to be done to protect the consumers interests and to help repair the reputation of the sector.
Happy 30th birthday Big Bang
It was the great Gordon Gekko who said, "Moral hazard is when they take your money and then are not responsible for what they do with it."
FSCS and the release of data, your data
Advisers may be concerned to know about the continued, contentious handling of personal data by the FSCS where claims are received. In particular where the adviser has retired and the firm in question was NOT in default of the scheme some 20 years later.
The Pensions Regulator: Are DB schemes in crisis?
Weve just launched a new blog, which showcases the news and views of TPR senior staff in their own words. Theyll be covering a variety of subjects, from how to engage people with pensions and savings, to how well be helping newly-created companies meet their automatic enrolment duties.
Boring is as boring does
I recently had through my door a local magazine, you know, the type that has all sorts of information in a glossy A4 format about local stuff and people that these days the internet is the go to to find out about.
Firms do not need to turn away insistent clients
In June 2015 the FCA released Factsheet 035 for advisers, setting out its views on pension reforms and insistent clients. This was prompted by the pension freedoms legislation. The issue has been in the news again as the FCA embarks on another suitability review, asking firms for a significant amount of information including data on insistent client cases.
Firms do not need to turn away insistent clients
In June 2015 the FCA released Factsheet 035 for advisers, setting out its views on pension reforms and insistent clients. This was prompted by the pension freedoms legislation. The issue has been in the news again as the FCA embarks on another suitability review, asking firms for a significant amount of information including data on insistent client cases.
Stinking badges 2
It is well documented how claims management companies have plagued the industry in recent years. Many of these have lied, cheated, deceived and generally operated in a base and underhand manner.
Out damn spot. Professional Advisers' Regulator- best way forward?
The Treasury Select Committee has just published its report on the regulators role in the collapse of HBOS and what that means for UK regulation. The report is damning. Not only have the component parts of the regulator not been communicating but, more importantly, there was an absence of political will to confront the issue. The TSC suggests that enforcement should be separated into a new body from supervision in the hope that this will create a thirst for action.
Regulation, will we ever get it right?
Regulation should not be pursued at any cost and in such a way, applied like a tattoo only to be regretted when the effect of the alcoholic induced stupor that fuelled its creation has gone away. The NHS is an example of regulation on acid.
APFA Costs of Regulation survey Deadline Monday 8th August
Last year APFA found that on average, smaller firms spend 12% of their income on regulation, meaning the sector spent an estimated £475million on regulation alone in 2014.
Libertatem: Will Theresa May be brave enough to reform the Treasury?
The appointment of Philip Hammond reflects Theresa May's pledge to turn her back on the political elite and give control back to electorate. But is she also prepared to take on the Treasury and bring accountability back to the system...
Brexit, What next for MiFID?
The Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MIFID) was an EU regulation initiative that aimed for harmonisation of financial services regulation in Europes 31 member states.
AILOS activities in relation to PRIIPS continue
One of the most significant issues currently facing the financial services sector is the draft Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) for the Key Information Document (KID) for Packaged Retail and Insurance Investment Products (PRIIPS), issued by the joint European Supervisory Authorities in April 2016.
What is the point of fines on corporate bodies
Some time for some focus and an application of common sense and fair play? Second World War veteran Major James Fyfe, who signed up aged 17 and fought at Dunkirk, fell of a trolley at Royal Berkshire Hospital and broke his neck in March 2011.
Longstop matters, dual standards and South Thanet
The campaign to see that longstop protection should be re-instated for financial advisers seems to have been kicked into the long grass once again, this time by way of the actions and resolve of the FAMR and the FCA.
Libertatem: Advisers are sleeping whilst the FCA goes fishing
The regulator announced last week that it will soon be trawling through advisers files looking for examples of poor suitability. This is despite the fact that advisers only account for three in 1,000 FOS cases being declared in the consumers favour.
April fool, decide for yourself?
All advisory firms in a post RDR world have had to look carefully at their proposition, segment their client base and decide what to charge their clients taking into account the underlying costs of running their business.
Being a cynic means never having to be disappointed (apologies to Love Story)
The sagacity of operating this mindset was further ratified upon reading the FAMR Final Report. The aspect that most interested me was how the panel dignitaries, comprised mainly of theorists, would deal with the issue of the 15-year longstop.
Being a cynic means never having to be disappointed (apologies to Love Story)
The sagacity of operating this mindset was further ratified upon reading the FAMR Final Report. The aspect that most interested me was how the panel dignitaries, comprised mainly of theorists, would deal with the issue of the 15-year longstop.
Surely still not Pete Tong at the FOS?
The Financial Advice Market Review (FAMR), just published, says that The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) has a crucial role in ensuring redress for consumers, and building confidence in the financial services sector, providing a quicker, easier alternative to the courts.
Surely still not Pete Tong at the FOS?
The Financial Advice Market Review (FAMR), just published, says that The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) has a crucial role in ensuring redress for consumers, and building confidence in the financial services sector, providing a quicker, easier alternative to the courts.
'Appetite and barriers' explored in FCA Social Investment Review
I have reservations about the FCA having lumped Social Impact Investment (not really my area!) in with ethical/sustainable investment options (my area!) in this review. I am also concerned about possible outcomes of this review for the adviser market...