10th October 2017
Risk management is an ongoing process, requiring the right documentation, commitment and resource.
If you were to ask 10 advisers what risk management meant to them, you would likely get a wide variety of answers. Quite probably 10 different ones.
I am often asked what constitutes a sensible risk strategy for an
Read more...
11th July 2017
Businesses that can address all 10 points are likely to be profitable and successful...
I spend a lot of time with the owners of advice firms discussing the development of their businesses.
In many instances, what holds them back is not their drive or ability but rather taking the time to articulate
Read more...
23rd June 2017
Working from home has been part of the employment structure in a number of firms for many years. For some people it is now a firmly established way of life. The impact can certainly be seen, at least where I commute into London. On Fridays, for example, the station car
Read more...
23rd June 2017
Advisers are relating to clients better than they ever have done as a result of the Retail Distribution Review, argues Roderic Rennison in our latest Adviser Champions interview.
The Rennison Consulting director gives further credit to the regulator for the improvement in client-adviser relationships for encouraging advisers to do more research before
Read more...
16th March 2017
If you are one of the 500,000 plus people in the UK who started a new business in the last year, pensions are probably not uppermost in your mind. Nevertheless, if you are employing anyone apart from yourself, it’s a mistake to ignore them as you could face fines of
Read more...
6th March 2017
All employers have to provide a workplace pension for their eligible staff by 2018. This process is called ‘automatic enrolment’, and is often referred to as ‘auto-enrolment’.
Avoiding the topic is not an option, so it’s important to be aware of what is required and by when. Otherwise, you may make
Read more...
13th December 2016
Most people that run their own firms combine client work with the day-to-day management of it. Clients often have unexpected requirements and, as the lifeblood of the business, the natural thing to do is to give them priority. However, that may mean the management of your employees takes a back
Read more...
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...