Featured: PIMFA Launches New Guide: Understanding Customer Vulnerability 28 October 2024
PIMFA Customer Vulnerability Event & Guide Launch
Last week we welcomed over 600 professionals to a dedicated event on Customer Vulnerability run with support from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The event began with welcome remarks from Paul Geddes, Group CEO of Evelyn Partners and was followed by a keynote speech from Graeme Reynolds, FCA’s Director for Consumers and Competition, who welcomed the industry's coming together to address the issue of customer vulnerability.
Graeme Reynolds provided insights on the progress that firms have made since the 2022 Wealth Data Survey, while also pointing out areas that still need attention (read his full speech here). Alexandra Roberts, Head of Regulatory Policy and Compliance, PIMFA, followed with a presentation to launch and outline the new 160-page guide produced by PIMFA to assist firms in their work on customer vulnerability.
A ‘view from the top’ panel discussion was led by PIMFA’s Chief Executive Liz Field, featuring Stuart Dodson, Managing Director at The Openwork Partnership, Richard Flynn, Managing Director at Charles Schwab and Sarah Owen-Jones, Chief Risk Officer at Rathbones.
A second panel discussion followed to hear the perspectives of practitioners, which included Tracy Coghill, Risk and Compliance Officer, City Asset Management; Trisha Horncastle, Compliance Technical Manager, abrdn; David Mulholland, Business Development Manager, Brooks MacDonald, and Zoe Morton, Director at RSM.
We hope you will find this guide helpful, and we thank the attendees and speakers, our hosts RSM, and all contributors to this guide from across our membership and other external stakeholders and groups.
Click here to read the full press release and learn more about the event.
Download the Guide
FCA Speech: 'Vulnerability is not a Buzzword'
The FCA has published a speech by Graeme Reynolds, Director for Consumers and Competition, delivered at the launch event of PIMFA’s Understanding Consumer Vulnerability Guide.
Mr Reynolds noted that a trusted wealth and advice industry is vital in helping people feel empowered and achieving good outcomes and set out expectations on firms:
• Given the broad spectrum of vulnerable circumstances, financial firms should act to proactively recognise characteristics of vulnerability and take action to address the increased risk of financial harm.
• Delivering for clients in vulnerable circumstances is a business necessity, crucial to a good client service – as well as being a regulatory expectation enshrined in the Consumer Duty.
• Monitoring outcomes is vital for firms to continually improve their service and ensure it meets the changing needs of clients in vulnerable circumstance.
Mr Reynolds advised that firms more remote from retail clients may have more limited obligations, however, all firms within the distribution chain have an obligation to consider the impact on clients with characteristics of vulnerability, for example, of the design and value proposition, and the information provided.
The FCA’s supervisory work will continue to focus on key aspects of Consumer Duty and to assess whether these support good outcomes for clients in vulnerable circumstances.
Read the full speech here.
The Q4 2024 PIMFA Asset Allocation Survey CLOSES FRIDAY 1 NOVEMBER at 5pm
Complete this quarter's survey(s), and you can:
• Receive a complimentary ‘Compare My Allocations Report’ which shows how the strategic asset allocations of your firm’s model portfolios compared to the participating peer average.
• Assist in ensuring that the index weight methodologies for the MSCI PIMFA Private Investor and Equity Risk Index Series’ remain relevant benchmarks for the UK wealth management sector.
Registered firms, simply click here to login and submit your firms quarterly strategic asset allocations using our new and improved dashboard.
We value and encourage participation from our full member firms and if you would like more information/sign-up, email indices@pimfa.co.uk.
New PIMFA Guest Blog: Why is the Wealth Management Industry Building Blockbusters When the Consumer Needs Netflix?
Using interesting parallels between the Blockbusters of old and Netflix, Tom Whittle, the Founder of Tikker, discusses how a fundamental shift in consumer behaviour means the wealth management industry needs to adapt in the face of estimated £5.5 trillion passing down through the generations of UK investors.
Read the full blog here.
The Operational Resilience Working Group is conducting an anonymous survey, which covers six areas: IBS, ItoL, Scenario Testing, Mapping, Tooling and Priority Areas for March 2025.
The aim is to gain a better understanding of operational resilience across the sector and in scope firms' preparedness for the 31 March 2025 deadline.
The final deadline to respond is 31 October 2024.
PIMFA
Operations Forum
The next Operations Forum will take place via Teams on Thursday 31 October 2024 from 3pm - 4pm and will feature a presentation on 'Why change is necessary in wealth management and what can be achieved?'
We are delighted to welcome back James Brown, Director of Client Services at Compeer, who will be sharing the results of Compeer's recent wealth management surveys, highlighting the need to address rising operational and IT costs and inefficiencies, and looking at leveraging technology to improve productivity and efficiency in the front and back office.
With updates on Euroclear CREST, PIMFA's Regulatory Policy work and an introduction to the PIMFA Guide to Vulnerable Customers from Alex Roberts, we have a packed schedule for this month's Forum.
The Forum is open to PIMFA members and associates - if you would like to join, please contact Heidi Bryant.
New PIMFA Guest Blog: Digital Transformation in Wealth Management: A Path to Efficiency and Compliance
In the fast-paced landscape of wealth management, digital transformation has emerged as a necessity to meet rising client expectations and adapt to evolving regulations. Beyond the buzzwords and industry jargon, digital transformation is proving to be a long-term financial win for firms in this sector.
The good news is that with the latest generation of SaaS solutions, this digital transformation does not need 12 to 18 months to be implemented or to be hugely capitalintensive.
Read more here.
PIMFA Regulatory Forum Recording from Wednesday 23 October 2024
The October Regulatory Forum has now been posted on the PIMFA website
The recording includes:
• FCA Dear CEO letter for financial advisers and investment intermediaries
• Forbearance measures for investment company cost disclosure
• FCA Regulatory Initiatives Grid
• Employment Rights Bill
• 30 October Budget
• PIMFA upcoming publications and events
• Advisors Sustainability Group (ASG) update
If you are from a PIMFA member or associate firm and would like to be added to the distribution list to attend the next Regulatory Forum, please contact Heidi Bryant.
Budget Update at the Next PIMFA Tax Group meeting
At the Tax Group virtual meeting on 7 November, Jamie Richards, KPMG's Director, Family Office and Private Client Technology and Innovation Lead, will be reviewing the impact of the Autumn Statement, and we will be exploring operational tax issues and answering queries from the group.
If you or any of your colleagues would like to attend the Tax Group, please contact Maria Fritzsche. Financial Advice Business Benchmark Report
NextWealth, supported by PIMFA, has published its latest Financial Advice Business Benchmark report.
This year’s report draws out a number of themes; namely:
1. Confidence
Financial advice professionals have high confidence in the service they provide to their clients but are much less impressed by some issues that are not in their immediate control.
High confidence
• 92% are confident in their firm’s ability to deliver good value for money
• 89% are confident in their ability to meet the advice needs of clients
Low confidence
• 26% are confident in the capability of the regulator
• 46% are confident in the stability of the economy
• One area where confidence is more middling is in tech innovation to make life easier for financial advice professionals. Only 56% are fully confident in technology innovations to make their lives easier.
2. Efficiency of delivery of advice
• This year’s report highlights that there has been no meaningful improvement in the time taken to deliver advice to new clients.
• Despite new ways of working and huge advances in tech, it still takes an average of 33 days to deliver the first piece of advice to a new client.
3. Organic growth
This year’s survey reveals a greater focus on organic growth.
• Taking on new clients: Over two thirds of respondents say their firm is looking to grow by taking on new clients, up from 50% last year.
• Hiring staff: 40% of firms plan to grow by hiring new staff, nearly double the share compared with last year.
• Growth firms are more likely to refer to client-facing staff as financial planners (59%) compared to 33% for the rest of the market.
• They are also more likely to have a CIP, to be looking to hire client service staff and to be planning changes to their tech stack.
FCA Cracks Down on Illegal FinFluencers
Twenty FinFluencers are being interviewed under caution by the FCA as it launches targeted action against FinFluencers who may be touting financial services products illegally.
Read the full press release here.
FCA Culture and Non-Financial Misconduct Survey Findings
The FCA has published key findings of their culture and non-financial misconduct survey, which examined how firms detect and handle non-financial misconduct incidents.
Survey responses have shown:
• The number of reported non-financial misconduct incidents increased over the 3 years surveyed.
• The distribution of non-financial misconduct types varied by sector although bullying and harassment (26%) and discrimination (23%) were the most reported types of non-financial misconduct across all sectors.
• There were also 41% of non-financial misconduct incidents reported in the ‘other’ category.
• The expectation is for firms to:
• use the benchmark survey data to reflect on whether their processes, procedures and controls provide both robust detection and appropriate outcomes.
• discuss non-financial misconduct at senior management and board level.
• consider any actions required to improve culture, identify and manage risks and address non-financial misconduct on an ongoing basis.
The FCA expect firms to:
• take allegations of non-financial misconduct seriously
• have effective systems in place to identify, investigate and remedy promptly and fairly when allegations are substantiated
• be fully compliant with their regulatory responsibilities and reporting requirements, regardless of size or sector
See the survey findings here and access the FCA’s next steps here.
FCA Aggregate Complaints Data H1 2024
The FCA has published the aggregate complaints data for H1 2024, key findings include:
• Decumulation and pensions, insurance and pure protection, and investments all experienced an increase in complaints numbers
• The percentage of complaints that were upheld by firms remained at 57% between H2 2023 and H1 2024
• The total amount of redress for the period was £243m, a 6.9% decrease on the H2 2023 figure of £261m
Firm-specific complaints data showing the individual firm data reported to the FCA by financial services firms for H1 2024 has also been published.
The FOS has published the complaints data for H1 2024, showing an increase in complaints by over 40% compared to the same period in 2023. In the first six months of 2024, FOS upheld 35% of complaints in the consumer's favour, compared to 37% in the first half of 2023.
The data highlights which firms are receiving the most complaints across sectors (including banking, insurance, investments and credit) and includes a category for complaints that have been settled proactively with businesses.
FOS has also published early resolution data for July to December 2023.
Access the data here.
New Impact Investing Survey
Ipsos, in partnership with the Impact Investing Institute, is conducting ground-breaking research to understand how investment professionals view the purpose of investing and the associated factors that influence investment decisions.
The 10-minute survey explores:
• The purpose and fundamentals of investing
• Key factors influencing investment decisions
• Perceptions of risk, return, as well as environmental and social considerations
By participating in a brief 5–10-minute survey you will contribute to research that will provide unique insights into the transformation of investment narratives and practices. You’ll also get a chance to enter a prize draw for a £75 voucher.
The survey is open until Tuesday 19 November. All responses are strictly confidential and will be presented only as aggregated statistics for research purposes.
Click here to take the survey.
PRESS RELEASES
PIMFA welcomes 600 professionals at launch of customer vulnerability guide
PIMFA celebrates winners of its 2024 Diversity & Inclusion Awards
PIMFA WealthTech launches new Tech Sprint on strengthening the industry's cyber security defences
PRESS COVERAGE
Citywire New Model Adviser: FCA issues warning to wealth manager 'outliers' over vulnerable clients
Professional Adviser: FCA's nonfinancial misconduct survey 'highlights opportunity to make a difference'
The Wealthnet: PIMFA expresses concerns over revised approach to PEPs
ONE MONTH TO GO
21 November 2024
Live Online | 09:30 - 12:30
£400 - £500
PIMFA Live Online Learning: Designing and Implementing A Robust Fraud Strategy
In 2024, The FCA expects your firm to do more to strengthen your systems to detect and prevent fraud.
In a November 2023 Dear CEO Letter to Wealth Managers, the FCA stated that firms have lost significant sums to fraud and urged leadership teams to fully understand their risk exposure and invest the necessary time, energy, and capital to manage it effectively.
In November’s masterclass on ‘Designing and Implementing A Robust Fraud Strategy’, former FCA and SFO experts who have worked on highly complex criminal cases help you design and deploy a fit-for-purpose fraud strategy that adapts to the needs of your firm and, importantly stands up to FCA scrutiny.
EARLY-BIRD TICKETS
26 February 2025
Live Event and Online| 10:00 - 17:00
£250 - £600
PIMFA Financial Crime Conference 2025
The PIMFA Financial Crime Conference is returning in 2025 and will aim to update attendees on the evolving financial crime landscape.
Firms and their clients remain at risk, and the event will aim to give PIMFA members the know how to protect themselves. Attendees will get access to expert sessions from professionals across industry, regulatory and law enforcement, as they discuss the current threat landscape emerging from new techniques and technologies, and what can be done to operate in a safer and more resilient environment.
The 2025 agenda is currently under construction, but as a sneak peak, will feature the following key themes:
• Regulatory keynote from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)
By the attending this masterclass you’ll be able to:
• Understand what a robust fraud strategy looks like
• Apply new fraud-related regulatory requirements
• Design systems to prevent and detect fraud
• Develop ongoing monitoring strategies for emerging fraud risks
Click here for more information.
BOOK NOW
• Home Office update on the Economic Crime Plan 2
• PIMFA update on the latest member perspectives
• SARS update from the National Crime Agency (NCA)
• Legal update on the latest in fraud and regulatory from Shoosmiths
• A view from the coalface on the latest cyber threats
• A look at how technology can enhance AML controls
• The latest in sanctions controls and practical applications
• Risk assessments and fraud controls
BOOK NOW
More to be announced! Book your early-bird tickets here. Contact Us | Visit Website | Terms & Conditions Unsubscribe | View in Browser
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