Financial services firms are “well placed” to live up to the “step up in standards” brought about by the Consumer Duty rules but forward implementation planning is essential.
Every adviser has the ability to be a great leader and should hone their skills to make a difference in the lives of people they interact with, Anna Sofat told the Personal Finance Society Festival of Financial Planning.
Building rapport with clients might not always be easy but it can be achieved by following a five-point process which puts people at ease and will help advisers get hired at the first meeting, delegates heard.
The financial services industry must get over its “arrogance” and let clients save in a more flexible way rather than set amounts each month in a similar way to micro-savings businesses, according to the Financial Technology Research Centre (FTRC).
Advisers preparing to exit the profession should get their business in shape long before sitting down with brokers or potential buyers as any “gremlins” will be discovered eventually, delegates heard.
The incoming Consumer Duty rules will weed out the remaining “bad advisers” that operate in the UK market who continue to push high-risk investments to consumers, according to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Disjointed adviser technology used across the profession is “completely unacceptable” and established providers are not interested in providing much-needed innovation, delegates heard.