10 minute read
News
PERSONAL FINANCE SOCIETY
PFS CELEBRATES 15 YEARS AND PLANS FOR THE FUTURE
2020 marks 15 years since the launch of the PFS, prompting the professional body to refl ect on past and future developments.
Since being established in 2005 via the merger of the Society of Financial Advisers and the Life Insurance Association, the PFS has evolved into the sector’s leading professional body, with a membership of 40,000 at the start of this year.
Inaugural president of the PFS, Brian Steeples of Turris in Glasgow, said: “The whole sector should be proud of just how far it has come in such a short space of time. Qualifi cation levels are a stark indicator of how fi nancial advice has moved from an industry into a more trusted profession.”
The PFS off ers a comprehensive continuing professional development programme, with full-day events delivered every month in 27 locations across the UK, plus webinars and good practice guides.
In addition, 2020 will also see the return Brexit could boost FTSE 100 share prices, according to 42.4% of 170 fi nancial advisers who took part in a PFS poll in January.
Roughly one in fi ve fi nancial advisers (22.9%) said Brexit will not boost FTSE 100 share prices, and approximately a third (34.7%) were unsure what the UK exiting the European Union will mean for investors in the index.
Keith Richards, chief executive of the PFS, said: “The Conservative Party’s general election victory sent the FTSE 100 to its best day in a year, with analysts hailing it the ‘Boris Bounce’.
“The majority of the FTSE 100’s profi ts come from outside the UK. A weaker pound is benefi cial for some British companies of the Festival of Financial Planning to Birmingham’s NEC in November. The 2016 event attracted 3,500 delegates and delivered more than 70 breakout sessions.
During the past decade, the PFS has also increased its engagement and infl uence with government, regulators and consumer groups.
Recent initiatives include the creation of The Pension Advice Taskforce, resulting in the creation of Pension Transfer Gold Standard.
Read our CEO comment from
INVESTMENT
BREXIT EXPECTED TO BOOST FTSE 100 SHARE PRICES
Keith Richards on page 4 that sell their products or services outside of the UK, as it allows overseas buyers to get more for their money.
“If the value of the pound falls further, many FTSE 100 companies should therefore receive a boost and, in theory, this should push the share prices up, acting as a hedge against Brexit uncertainty. However, we need to remain mindful that a Brexit deal with the European Union has yet to be struck, and any economic optimism we currently feel may be misplaced.
Twe et T a l k
@SquareMileICR Square Mile’s Jamie Farquhar talking ESG and embracing it into your investment proposition at the @pfsconf in London this week #pfsconf @AlanSense People starting to arrive @RuddingPark for the @Profadviser Multi Asset Roadshow where I will be doing a presentation about the good work @pfsconf carry out educating school children regarding all matters fi nancial @SlipaczekPro Delighted @ASlipaczek membership offi cer of London @pfsconf representing @SlipaczekPro at London @pfsconf Q1 Conference #chartered #CPD2020 @CIIGroup
MENTORING
PFS MENTORING SCHEME ATTRACTS 1,000 PARTICIPANTS
Connect, the PFS’s e-mentoring programme, has attracted more than 1,000 mentors and mentees since its launch in the summer.
Connect allows PFS members to form mentorship connections with other professionals at any point of their career and from anywhere across the globe, creating the potential for a truly international and united fi nancial planning profession.
PFS members can register to be a mentor or mentee with ADVICE The Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) has reacted to the Money and Pensions Service’s (MAPS) launch of a UK-wide strategy to improve the fi nancial wellbeing across the country, stating that it will be “the catalyst for a fi nancial wellbeing movement”. MAPS unveiled a 10-year plan to help people be equipped to plan and enjoy their retirement.
The UK Strategy for Financial Wellbeing has prioritised areas including: making sure Connect in just a few minutes.
As someone looking for a mentor, the Connect website allows you to familiarise yourself with the programme via a series of articles and videos.
Connect enables the member to tailor their search to fi nd a suitable mentor to help them achieve specifi c career and personal development goals.
The Connect website allows mentors and mentees to keep in touch, set up young people get a meaningful fi nancial education; encouraging people into the habit of saving and building cash reserves; making sure fewer people use credit for food and bills; and increasing the number of people who can access debt advice.
Sian Fisher, chair of Insuring Women’s Futures and CEO of the CII, said: “I am pleased the Money and Pensions Service’s UK-wide strategy to transform the country’s fi nancial wellbeing in a decade will
meetings and devise plans of action, with interactive tools.
To fi nd out more, visit:
CII REACTS TO MAPS’ NEW STRATEGY
pfs.org/connect examine the impact gender has on fi nancial resilience.
“As chair of the Insuring Women’s Futures initiative, I know some of the issues needing to be addressed to improve female fi nancial resilience are deep-rooted.
THE NEWS IN NUMBERS
40,000 MEMBERS ARE NOW PART OF THE PFS AS WE CELEBRATE 15 YEARS SINCE THE SOCIETY’S LAUNCH
1,000 MENTORS AND MENTEES HAVE JOINED CONNECT, THE PFS’S E-MENTORING PROGRAMME, SINCE ITS LAUNCH LAST SUMMER
42% OF 170 FINANCIAL ADVISERS POLLED BY THE PFS BELIEVE BREXIT WILL BOOST FTSE 100 SHARE PRICES
45% OF UK ADULTS UNDERSTAND ENOUGH ABOUT THEIR FINANCES TO PLAN FOR LATER LIFE, ACCORDING TO THE MONEY AND PENSIONS SERVICE
@stettip Just received my invite from @pfsconf to the Graduation Ceremony in London to graduate as a Fellow of the Personal Finance Society in April @PennyRadioPod Great to see there’ll be more fi nancial advisers going to more schools this year! Keep up the good work @pfsconf and all the people giving their time to make this happen @PFS_HD @WeAreJustUK Jeremy Martin returns to our fabulous @pfsconf regional conference with the energy and bounce we’ve come to expect from him! Welcome back
9,024
Twitter followers and counting...
FORCES MONEYPLAN
PFS PROGRAMME BECOMES AFFILIATE MEMBER OF COBSEO
In late 2019, the PFS’s Forces MoneyPlan initiative was granted affi liate membership of the Confederation of Forces Charities (Cobseo).
Cobseo represents the entire serving and veterans’ community – some six million people and their dependants.
Membership of Cobseo is only open to charities or other organisations whose PENSIONS More than 30 fi nancial advice fi rms have turned their backs on off ering pension transfer advice in the space of just three months, due to problems obtaining aff ordable professional indemnity (PI) cover, according to the PFS.
The Pension Transfer Gold Standard was launched in April last year by the Pension Advice Taskforce and the PFS, the professional body for the fi nancial advice profession.
The Gold Standard is a voluntary code of good practice for safeguarded and defi ned benefi t pension transfer advice, based around a set of principles.
Firms can adopt and promote this standard and principles, so consumers can better understand and fi nd good advice, and be confi dent they are dealing with a fi rm that is going beyond minimum requirements when giving fi nancial advice.
By the end of 2019 more than 1,225 advisers had signed up to the standard, but in the fi nal three months of the year primary purpose is to promote and further the welfare and general interests of the Armed Forces community. As such, acceptance of the PFS as an affi liate member is due recognition of the unique role of Forces MoneyPlan and especially the eff orts and commitment of our adviser volunteers, without whom this unique and valuable service would not be possible.
In 2020, the PFS looks forward to working with Cobseo to broaden both the scope and impact of Forces MoneyPlan, by helping facilitate direct access to individual member charities that include, among many others, the more than 30 fi rms had pulled out in the space of just 90 days.
The fi rms that deregistered for Gold
Standard stated they were no longer off ering pension transfer advice due to restricted access to aff ordable
PI insurance.
The PFS expects the number of fi rms pulling out of off ering pension transfer advice to further increase in the coming Royal British Legion, Help for Heroes and armed forces charity SSAFA.
For more information about Forces MoneyPlan, and to express your interest in volunteering for this initiative, visit: www.thepfs.org/forcesmoneyplan
Cobseo The Confederation
PI PROBLEMS PROMPT 30 ADVICE FIRMS TO EXIT TRANSFER MARKET
of Service Charities
months as the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) publishes fi nal pension transfer advice rules.
The PFS has re-engaged with HM Treasury and the FCA on the need for a review of PI insurance.
The professional body has also called on members to report poor practice at claims management companies, which it will share with the FCA.
CLAIMS MANAGEMENT
PFS UNCOVERS EVIDENCE OF POOR CMC PRACTICE
The PFS has received 40 complaints about the conduct of claims management companies (CMCs) in less than a week.
Evidence has been uncovered of CMCs issuing blanket calls for cash or escalating the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) despite a fi nancial adviser having evidence it is without foundation.
One adviser had evidence of a CMC issuing blanket complaints on annuity sales on behalf of clients without bothering to check whether any of what they were alleging even applied in the client’s case. TECHNOLOGY PFS REACTS TO DATA REFORMS
The CMC alleged that a client was not given the open market option of a joint life annuity or guarantee period, when
the client actually purchased a joint life annuity with a 10-year guarantee period via the open market option.
The adviser, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “The claims management companies should be required to provide evidence of what they allege, as they waste so much time without any responsibility for their allegations.”
Another fi nancial adviser was able to show the CMC how their client was fi nancially better off because of their recommendation.
Despite this evidence, the CMC still referred the complaint onto the FOS, which concluded the advice was suitable.
In January, the PFS announced it was collecting evidence of poor practice among CMCs that will be passed to the
Financial Conduct Authority.
In response to the Financial Conduct Authority and Bank of England announcing proposals for data reforms across the UK fi nancial sector, the PFS has warned data alone will not prevent future consumer detriment.
Keith Richards, chief executive of the PFS, said: “It is vital that the regulator has the right data to inform rules, but data alone isn’t enough to prevent future consumer detriment. It is vital that data is accompanied by human insight to ensure developments in the market are thoroughly understood. Digital breadcrumbs can’t replace the knowledge gained by speaking to those who assist consumers.
“There is also a danger that a desire to streamline data collection might mean that diff erent assets might be treated as the same, simply to create large ‘buckets’ for counting in a standardised way across the sector. This, in turn, might lead to an oversimplifi ed view of the market.
