12th October 2016
Contracts are a part of commercial life. The main ones affecting intermediary firms are those with clients, employees – and in particular advisers, and also those made with third party suppliers, most commonly life companies, platforms and IT software companies.
It’s a sad fact that some financial intermediaries spend minimal amounts
Read more...
3rd October 2016
In January 2014 the FCA issued Finalised Guidance 14/1: Supervising retail investment advice: inducements and conflicts of interest. This explained their concerns and why certain practices are likely to create conflicts of interest and result in firms not acting in their customers’ best interests. They said we would consider further
Read more...
12th September 2016
The sale of an intermediary business is usually the single largest “capital event” for most owners. The old adage, “You don’t get a second chance to make a good first impression” is one to bear in mind from the outset.
A number of actions and decisions make a successful sale more
Read more...
2nd September 2016
Remuneration is often a challenge for many intermediary firms principally to get the balance right between paying for results and retaining advisers and staff. The FCA and their predecessors, the FSA, have published guidance – see the article above – but how in practice should you go about setting and
Read more...
1st August 2016
The FSA's Final Guidance (FG13/01) was published in January 2013. The FCA more recently (in March 2014) published an updated Paper, Thematic Review 14/4 entitled: "Risks to customers from financial incentives - an update".
The temptation for intermediaries, in particular smaller intermediaries, is to think that the guidance does not apply to
Read more...
17th July 2016
The outcome of the vote will have a significant effect on intermediaries, providers and fund managers and the FCA, whilst politically neutral on the issue of Brexit, confirmed in a statement on 24th June 2016 following the vote that: Brexit "has significant implications for the UK".
It pointed out that much
Read more...
15th July 2016
Buyers and sellers are now generally more knowledgeable and savvy having witnessed the outcomes of previous intermediary firm acquisitions over the last decade or more. It is not just the immediate transaction itself that needs to be considered but the impact of earn-outs for the seller and the ease of integration
Read more...
15th July 2016
The need for intermediaries to be confident that their processes are robust and deliver consistent outcomes has never been greater. The FCA's steady stream of Papers (for the most part very readable despite comments from some to the contrary) is worth studying, in particular a number published since 2014:
15th July 2016
Culture and conduct have been two of the most hotly debated terms in the financial services industry during the last few years. It is no longer sufficient merely to comply with the rules. The FCA now expects firms to take responsibility for establishing an ethical culture that entrenches good conduct
Read more...
12th July 2016
Is it "business as usual" in your firm or is this the year that you want “to make it happen" - be that changes/improvements in your firm, a change in your lifestyle or even perhaps a decision to start to plan for an eventual sale?
My point is that businesses are
Read more...