Industry news and views from Panacea and our partners.
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Death by FOS. Is this the end for smaller IFA businesses?
The Financial Ombudsman service announced, on the 16th October, it is proposing that on 1 April 2019, yes, just 5 months away, the ombudsman services £150,000 award limit should increase by 133%
Alexa ..
In November 2017, the now late Professor Stephen Hawking issued a chilling warning about the imminent rise of artificial intelligence. During the interview, Professor Hawking warned that AI will soon reach a level where it will be a 'new form of life that will outperform humans.' There is a move afoot to bring the delivery of financial advice into the 21st century. After all, with the smart phone, tablet and virtual reality all breaking through boundaries, why should financial advice not find itself in the vanguard of change?
That fickle finger of fate
The Panacea community as you may expect, is made up mostly of men, recent research would suggest 93%. The age demographic is that 45% are within the 50-59 age group and 24% are over 60.
Who needs Arnie when you have this lot
There is an advert I heard on the radio for an organisation called Money Redress. Their campaign focussed on the miss selling of SIPPS, the hot topic today, passing by PPI and with much higher rewards. The firm is not alone, in BBC speak, other claims companies are available.
Who pays for this? Answer, regulated firms do.
FOS complaints about SIPPs have almost doubled in numbers over the past 12 months.
FOS treating IFAs as 'guilty until proven innocent'
Did you believe the FOS help complainants create a complaint where none existed? This was just one of 15 questions in our current FOS survey. We had 212 respondents. As with all our surveys, it is the comments that make for such interesting reading. Many thanks to all of you who completed the survey and for the hundreds of really inciteful comments that really put some flesh on the answer bones.
Exam results out, university applications down, unemployment numbers up
It has taken twenty years for the country to catch up with Tony Blairs cunning plan based on the mantra education, education, education. The unsaid intent all those years ago was not to make sure that the students would continue into further education, as a rite of passage, being processed to create a valuable asset for the country and its workforce.
Altruistic, community driven support
You may be a little puzzled as to why I am mailing you, especially in the post GDPR world? The following may help explain a little more, in particular about what we do, why and with who as well as ensuring that we remain compliant under the legitimate interest aspects of GDPR.
Trains, planes and?
Have phones at work become the new smoking in the workplace? A walk into any office, anywhere in the UK, will make clear that attention to the job in the workplace during working hours is being jeopardised by the use of mobile phones.
The Three Certainties of Human Life are Death, Taxes, and more regulation
"The regulator has found concerns over value for money in drawdown, including significant variance in charges, which can be complex, opaque or tough to compare, so has set out plans to force firms to show a one-year charge figure in pounds and pence in the key features illustration they provide to consumers".
Financial Advisers is not just a matter of life and death
Some more wise words to reflect upon from Bill Shankly. "The trouble with referees is that they know the rules, but they do not know the game." In the financial services industry, I think the same rationale applies. "The trouble with regulators is that they know the rules, but they do not know the industry they regulate.
Will GDPR destroy businesses?
GDPR was a cunning plan thought up by the EU. Europes data protection laws have long been regarded as a gold standard all over the world. But over the last 25 years, technology has transformed our lives in ways nobody could have imagined so a review of the rules was needed.
Unexplained wealth orders, money laundering and the Premier League
'Some people believe football is a matter of life and death. I'm very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that. Bill Shankly And it would seem to be as true today as it was then, but for very different reasons.
A Brave new world
My father worked for the Pru, joining them after the end of WW2. The Man from the Pru was him, a suited figure striding forward with that strange roof shaped umbrella logo. And income tax for him was at 98%.
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How much is that doggie in the window?
This HMRC document hit my desk last week. What a great idea, it shows how your hard earned is spent by the state on your behalf.
Stinking badges 3
For those of you who remember the Mel Brooks classic Blazing Saddles the town of Rock Ridge is being held to ransom by out of control Mexican bandits who proudly proclaim to the Mayor, Hedley Lamarr, that in a town with no sheriff, to cause havoc they dont need no stinking badges.
NHS and 'the Donald'
Given that the NHS has been politically weaponised (whatever that means) I thought that I would go off piste with some musings on whether Donald Trump was actually right about the NHS after all.
What is the GDPR and when will it apply?
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) comes into force on 25 May 2018 and will govern the use of personal information throughout the European Union. It replaces the EU's Data Protection Directive and the UK's Data Protection Act 1998. The Government's Data Protection Bill (due to come into force this year) will ensure that the GDPR remains in our law post-Brexit so there is little doubt that the GDPR is here to stay.
Stop the shorting monster
A short sale is a transaction in which an investor sells borrowed securities in anticipation of a price drop and is required to return an equal number of shares at some point in the future. A short seller makes money if the stock goes down, a lot of money if it drops a lot. Shorting is legal. But is it morally acceptable?
The problem with regulation is that you eventually run out of other peoples' money.
Regulation, we are told, is a vital part of society, it is local, national, European and some cases global yet despite it ever invasive, viral presence in UK society it seems that the more we regulate the worse it gets. And the regulator in just about every case will claim it is not their fault.
Regulation, competition and consumers
Please do not get me going so soon in 2018, after all its only the first full working week of January
Every one a 'go-er'
In Arthur Daley's Guide to Doing It Right, Arthur offers advice on " how to buy and sell a motor amongst many other things.But one thing he did not offer advioce on was PCP (Personal Contract Purchase).
The conundrum of Robo Responsibility
There is a move afoot to bring the delivery of financial advice into the 21st century. After all with the smart phone, tablet and virtual reality all breaking through boundaries, why should financial advice not find itself in the vanguard of change?
Who are the most influential financial service tweeters in the UK?
We launched our first annual Top Tweeter awards in 2014 and every year they have proven popular so once again we are running a competition to see which financial services pros are at the top of their Twitter game as 2017 draws to a close.
Yeah, no worries, cool
Last month the FCA announced that it was working with the regulatory risk analytics firm, Corlytics, to develop an intelligent regulatory handbook for the FCA in what it says is a world first.
Strange days indeed
The last couple of weeks since Harvey W got into trouble we have seen an extraordinary meltdown in the retrospective world of #metoo I have borrowed from a really famous quote by Martin Niemoller, a protestant pastor, who became famous as an outspoken critic of Adolf Hitler. He spent some seven years in various concentration camps for his trouble.
In the business of crime theres two people involved
It was during this same month six years ago that I first read with some dismay, but an overall lack of surprise, that the then FSA had opted not to license or pre-approve financial services products, due to what it claimed were a lack of resources.
Back to the future
Another major brand has announced that it is about to increase its financial planning operation with a hire of some 30 new advisers and another 70 next years. A sure sign that the 2017 advice gap provided both opportunity and a solution to dealing with the thousands of disenfranchised customers of major, highly reputable brands who have to find a way to service former IFA clients who no longer have an IFA, having fallen victim (if that is the right word) to IFA segmentation since RDR.
Buzzwords
A buzzword is a word or phrase that becomes very popular for a period of time. Buzzwords often derive from technical terms yet often have much of the original technical meaning removed, being simply used to impress others. They started to appear in the 1960s. Learnings is a buzzword, it has become very popular in the world of accountability, liability and in particular regulation.
GDPR is coming
The GDPR is the new General Data Protection Regulation. It becomes law on 25th May 2018, affects everyone in the EU, and even us in the UK. Brexit will not change this train coming down the track.
Death by regulator
We hear that the FCA has announced a Terminator inspired marketing campaign, yes, a marketing campaign, to encourage those who have not had a win on the PPI lottery yet to get truly lucky.
Seneca Investment Managers announced as latest provider partner for Panacea Adviser
Panacea Adviser, the online community and resource for financial advisers and paraplanners, has announced Seneca Investment Managers (IM) as the latest firm to join its growing roster of provider partners.
Money laundering and the Premier League
'Some people believe football is a matter of life and death. I'm very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that. Bill Shankly And it would seem to be as true today as it was then, but for very different reasons.
Industry attitude to robo-advice shifts as 20% of advisers consider development
One fifth of financial advisers could be set to launch their own robo-advice propositions in the future, according to exclusive research by Panacea Adviser. The survey of 104 advisers revealed that just 2% of respondents have already adopted robo-advice into their business while the majority (66%) of advisers said they had not yet decided whether robo-advice was right for them.
Have you ever been to electric shadyland
In May I switched my gas and electricity supplier from Scottish Power to Affect Energy. Affect is shown on many comparison sites, with good reviews and prices but at the time of my switch decision the actual switch process had to be done direct with Affect.
Holly came from Miami FLA
Last year we noted some startling news that women having NHS funded sex changes were also being given NHS fertility treatment so they can have babies after they become men. The next step in this odyssey seems to be that the....
The joys of getting older fellas
I Just had the biennial notification of my 60-69 cancer screening. Unlike getting older, the NHS is a wonderful thing This latest check comes on top of my post 65 aortic aneurism check and my recent check for PSA levels, testosterone levels, shoulder surgery follow up and the six monthly prostate cancer single digit and ultrasound follow up check
Panacea Adviser survey: 99% of advisers left in the dark on FCA accountability
Under 1% of advisers believe they have a proper understanding of what the regulator is accountable for, or how it is accountable, du e to the FCAs poor communication with the industry, according to exclusive research from Panacea Adviser.
Most people forget the third part
We started the week with this statement from the Lloyds Banking Group on behalf of HBOS: 'Our customers' safety is of paramount importance to us: 'We have a clear policy that if a customer says that they are considering taking their own life that we must take the statement seriously and take action to protect them. Whatever your view of Noel Edmunds and Mr. Blobby may be, I cannot think of any example in my forty plus years in the financial services industry where any bank has ever made such a statement.