Consumer duty  

One month to go: how firms should prepare for consumer duty

For example: What were you recommended? Do you know what our costs are? Do you know what we are/aren’t able to offer you?

Every client’s needs will be different, but asking broad questions such as these will provide a means of drilling down into what someone took away from a conversation and provide peace of mind that everyone is on the same page. 

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It also said clients should be encouraged to view vulnerability as a spectrum of risk and explained that a key element to measuring fair value is setting out information such as how a service or product has been priced, why it has been set at that price, exactly what benefits the service is delivering and what the cost of delivering it is. 

Preston-Todd said: “Consumer duty is the most significant regulatory change our industry has seen in over a decade. 

“It’s imperative that adviser firms ensure they are 100 per cent ready by focusing their attention in the right areas in the run up to implementation. 

“This might seem a daunting prospect as the clock ticks down, but there’s lots of support available and embracing the changes offers a great opportunity to ensure services and processes are delivering the best possible outcomes to customers.”

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