Consumer Duty has been one of the most important challenges and opportunities that advice firms have had to tackle in 2023, according to some of the companies in this year's FTAdviser Top 100 Financial Advisers list.
The names, who were revealed last night (September 28) at a special celebratory drinks ceremony following the Financial Advice Forum, epitomise what is great about the UK financial advisory profession.
FTAdviser canvassed the views of some of the names in the frame about the effect that consumer duty will have on the advice profession.
Advice veteran Jeremy Woodley, director of The Fry Group, said: "Consumer duty is designed to ensure clients get the appropriate support, advice and level of service they need to achieve this right outcome, when they need to achieve it.
“When it comes to client communication, striking the right balance in terms of both quality and quantity is a challenge.
“It’s crucial to ask ourselves whether our communications align and are appropriate for the level of service each client is telling us they want.”
Echoing this, Jessica Ayres, chartered financial adviser at London-headquartered Timothy James & Partners - another FTAdviser Top 100 firm this year - said advisers must manage client expectations and to ensure there is “consistent communication with clients”.
This should involve being clear about the economic situation, setting expectations for individuals’ financial objectives, and revisiting their fees. “We are ultimately responsible for ensuring they get value for their money”, she said.
Another core element of service delivery post-consumer duty is technology, according to another Top 100 advice firm.
Ian Lowes, managing director of Lowes Financial Management, said the progression of technology “presented opportunities” to enhance the “quality of service provided to clients, by embracing digital tools, such as artificial intelligence”.
But he added that implementing robust initiatives to safeguard client data was "paramount", saying: “Advice firms will also confront challenges by potential disruptors in the market, comprising digitised newcomers aiming to cater to a generation of clients who prefer non face-to-face guidance.”
The methodology
The top 20 companies in our Top 100 Advisers are shown in the table (below). In pole position is Scotland’s Johnston Carmichael Wealth, which held on to its title for the second year running.
Similarly, Mazars Financial Planning, an arm of London-based accountancy firm Mazars, retained second place, while climbing up to third place this year is privately owned financial advisory group Westminster Wealth Management.
The FTAdviser list is compiled by Financial Clarity, an ISS Market Intelligence business, which created a long list of 150 companies, selected on gross sales for the year to June 2023.
To pare this down to 100, other, qualitative, factors are considered; for example, how long firms have been in business, and whether they are either chartered by the Chartered Insurance Institute or accredited by the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment.
Of course, there is more choice beyond the 100 companies outlined in our list - as evidenced at the Financial Advice Forum yesterday, there is a wealth of advice firms going over and above for their clients every day.
