Data is the backbone of financial planning. Advisers use data to analyse markets, build portfolios, and make recommendations to clients. But data shouldn’t just inform the plans you recommend to your clients. It should help to evaluate and improve the service you offer to them. Consumer Duty puts a strong emphasis on the importance ofContinue reading “The 4 essential steps to create a foolproof Consumer Duty data strategy”
Category Archives: Consumer Duty
Making Vulnerability Personal: The 5 key steps to a more inclusive business
Consumer Duty recognises the importance of protecting customers in vulnerable circumstances. Vulnerability can arise from a variety of factors such as age, disability, health conditions, low financial literacy, or social circumstances. According to the FCA, a vulnerable consumer is someone who, due to their personal circumstances, is especially susceptible to harm, particularly when a firmContinue reading “Making Vulnerability Personal: The 5 key steps to a more inclusive business”
Consumer Duty will cost you money; how to boost your return on investment
There’s no getting away from it, Consumer Duty will cost you money. The new guidelines require firms to record the rationale, data collected, decisions made and actions taken as their whole business. Savvy firms will introduce efficiencies to balance the cost. But our data shows that by collecting and acting on client feedback in theContinue reading “Consumer Duty will cost you money; how to boost your return on investment”
Culture, Governance and Accountability: creating the right environment for success
The Consumer Duty requires firms to put clients at the heart of every decision. The Duty puts a spotlight on a firm’s: The Consumer Duty is a set of principles, rather than rules. The FCA expects everyone within a firm to act in the spirit of the principles; it reaches much further than just compliance.Continue reading “Culture, Governance and Accountability: creating the right environment for success”
Delivering good outcomes: a new way of asking for feedback
Customer satisfaction is dead, long live client outcomes. The FCA has placed delivering good outcomes at the heart of Consumer Duty, which comes into force at the end of July 2023. The new requirements will mean advisers need to forget everything they thought they knew about client surveys. So what should you be doing? ToContinue reading “Delivering good outcomes: a new way of asking for feedback”
Are you ready for Consumer Duty? Top advice firms share 7 key steps to success
Are you ready for Consumer Duty? Top advice firms share 7 key steps to success With the implementation deadline for Consumer Duty now just six months away, we asked three firms what they’re doing to prepare for success. Whatever their level of readiness, all the firms spoke to the functional and cultural changes required, withContinue reading “Are you ready for Consumer Duty? Top advice firms share 7 key steps to success”
Consumer Duty outcome 4: 3 ways to show you really support your customers
The fourth outcome of the Consumer Duty is ‘Consumer Support’. Firms are required to support clients all the way through their relationship so they can “consistently get the full benefit of the product and services they have purchased without unreasonable barriers”. In this article, we offer three simple steps firms can take to nail thisContinue reading “Consumer Duty outcome 4: 3 ways to show you really support your customers”
What, why and how – the 15 questions we keep getting asked about Consumer Duty
The Consumer Duty clock is ticking, as firms have until the end of July 2023 to be compliant. At VouchedFor, we’ve hosted a packed schedule of webinars to help firms navigate the Consumer Duty. Based on the questions you’ve asked, here are answers to the 15 most commonly asked questions, to help you nail yourContinue reading “What, why and how – the 15 questions we keep getting asked about Consumer Duty”
Consumer Duty outcome 3: Do your customers really understand you?
The third outcome of the Consumer Duty is ‘Consumer Understanding’, where firms are required to communicate in a way that, “in addition to being fair, clear and not misleading, is also understandable and facilitates informed consumer decisions”. In this article, we explain what this means and show where firms could strengthen their communications. Advisers haveContinue reading “Consumer Duty outcome 3: Do your customers really understand you?”
Consumer Duty outcome 2: Are 1 in 6 of your clients unsure how they pay you?
Advisers have four ‘outcomes’ to consider under the FCA’s new Consumer Duty regulations: products and services, price and value, consumer understanding and consumer support. This article looks at the second of these – ‘price and value’ – and the requirement of firms to “ensure clients are receiving fair value when it comes to the priceContinue reading “Consumer Duty outcome 2: Are 1 in 6 of your clients unsure how they pay you?”