3POSITIVE WEALTH CREATION |
BEST PRACTICE REPRESENTATIVE
Prizes and education
Both directors have won prizes for top
marks in different CII exams, awarded
by the Insurance Institute of Bristol
on the journey to individual chartered
financial planner status. Our staff
members undergo career development
as part of the continuing commitment
to CII corporate chartered status.
I sit on the advisory board for the
Accounting, Economics and Finance
Department in the Faculty of Business
and Law at University of the West of
England. Guest lectures have been
delivered for the past six years so far.
We have had numerous graduate paid
placements with us during the summer.
Two have accepted full-time positions
of trainee paraplanner. This forms a
career pathway to becoming a financial
adviser. The first, Lucy, has since
completed the CII Regulated Financial
Planning Diploma.
Challenges
We have faced various stock market
downturns, including the financial
crisis of 2008. We have developed
diverse investment portfolios designed
to withstand turbulence and stay close
to clients’ expectations by focusing
on their needs regardless of external
factors. Three years of Brexit uncertainty
has proved a great test in managing
some emotional behaviour.
Adaptation to political change is
essential. Gordon Brown’s pension
simplification of 2006 proved to be
anything but. George Osborne’s
pension freedoms of 2015 was
reminiscent of Nigel Lawson’s
introduction of personal pensions in
1988, both of which contributed to
widespread transfers out of defined
benefit pensions, the overall merit of
which may be uncertain.
The balance between provision and cost
of greater consumer protection is the
main challenge of the Financial Conduct
Authority’s regulatory environment. We
welcome the introduction in December
2019 of the senior management and
certification regime to promote clearer
individual accountability. Having acted
for families for 40 years into fourth
generational financial planning, the
reputational damage of making a
mistake has always been a deterrent.
The Financial Advice Market Review
of 2015/16 may have been a missed
opportunity. When the regulatory
documents for an advised investment
ISA run to around 100 pages, this
represents layers of cost for uncertain
consumer benefit, particularly compared
with the relative ease of borrowing.
The regulator announced a four-week
request for feedback by June 3, 2019,
before a review of FAMR is carried out.
At the same time, the second European
Union Markets in Financial Instruments
Directive introduced from 2018 brought
greater disclosure of upfront and
ongoing costs of investing and provision
of advice. Despite the differences in the
financial advice markets of the 28 EU
member states, which are not resolved
by the directive or its introduction into
UK regulation, compliance increasescost.
The imposition with three weeks’ notice
of the increased maximum claim award
from the Financial Ombudsman Service
to £350,000 from April 1, 2019, has
disrupted the professional indemnity
insurance market. Resolution has
required a 34 per cent higher annual
insurance premium, or more capital
being held on balance sheets in lieu. Yet
cost reduction is required to promote
access to financial advice.
While other sectors have been
disrupted in the 21st century by
technology, financial advice remains
capital intensive. As bank branches and
cashpoints vanish, online banking has its
limits if only because of user trepidation
with higher-value transactions. The
empathy, support and reassurance for
which we have a reputation will remain
a challenge for artificial intelligence.
Despite having a cost, the human touch
provides real value to our clients.
Executive Director and
Chartered Financial
Planner Alex Turco
The team: Lucy, Janet,
Jonathan and Sioned
While other
sectors have
been disrupted
in the 21st
century by
technology,
financial advice
remains capital
intensive
“
“
Rt Hon The Lord David Blunkett
Rt Hon The Lord Eric Pickles
