If they already have a plan, we’d work with them to review it and help ensure they have the constituent parts they need to be able to deliver it and how the partnership can offer support with this.
It is a very similar approach to how many advisers will approach their client conversations.
FTA: What impact will the consumer duty have on how advice companies operate?
SM: For many of our firms, much of what the consumer duty paper discusses will already be in place. For a few others, it may require a slight shift in mindset to ensure their focus, first and foremost, is on the client.
The Openwork Partnership has already embraced RDR, TCF, MMR and Vulnerable Clients, all of which have set up many of the building blocks of the practice that consumer duty talks about, and we aim to ensure we aren’t operating in a transactional environment, but one based on client experience and outcomes.
Our advisers run great businesses both in terms of profitability, but also with a client outcomes lens on – which is what consumer duty is at its heart.
carmen.reichman@ft.com