When they learn about my line of work, people sometimes ask me if I have a financial adviser myself. My answer – “of course” – might come as a surprise.
After a 36-year career in financial services, I agree that I perhaps have the knowledge to do it myself, but the time and interest is harder to find.
I have also seen too often, among my friends as well as in my work, what happens in couples in which one person has some financial expertise.
The juggling act of two careers, a family and a home means that if one half of the couple is financially confident, they inevitably take the reins of the money management, while the other looks after their own share of the practical and administrative tasks. Simple division of labour.
But if the person who has managed the finances dies first, the other is often left in a mess, no matter how carefully their partner has prepared for the eventuality. And though an adviser can help, even finding one can feel overwhelming for someone dealing with both grief and the other practicalities of a bereavement.
Building a relationship with a financial adviser earlier means the knowledge does not all reside with one person – something that helps me feel more comfortable when it comes to my own family’s future.
Finally, I do not flatter myself that my circumstances are unique. Though I am experienced in understanding risk, an adviser who is used to working with clients like me – business owners with families to plan for – might see things I do not.
Consumer duty future
As a firm, we are passionate about the value of good advice, and now we are working with an independent firm to put our money where our mouth is by making it available to all our team members.
I mention this not to pat myself on the back about our employment practices, but because I think the service is a good example of how savvy advice firms can slice off a market need and deliver it using technology in a simpler way in a consumer duty world.
The core of consumer duty is that you need to know your customers and provide a service that is appropriate for them. And that is as much an opportunity as it is a threat.
The threat: if you do not look after your customers, you will have to keep answering the same questions from the FCA. Why does everyone get the same service? Why are they all charged the same?
Either you are doing a better job of segmentation than any other company on earth – taking on only the one specific kind of client for whom this proposition works perfectly – or you are delivering a model that suits you rather than the customer.
