by Ben Clapham, Director of Financial Planning
The Consumer Duty is a package of measures introduced by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and comprises of a new Consumer Principle (Principle 12) that provides a high-level expectation of conduct and associated outcomes and a definitive set of overarching cross-cutting rules which develop and amplify the standards of conduct the FCA expects under the Consumer Principle.
Consumer Principle
States that a company must act to deliver good outcomes for all retail clients.
Cross-cutting rules
The cross-cutting rules strengthen the standards of conduct the FCA expect under the Consumer Principle. They develop the FCA’s overarching objectives for firm behaviour through three common themes applying across all areas of a firm’s conduct. They are also intended to inform and help firms interpret the four outcomes. The cross-cutting rules require firms to:
- Act in good faith toward retail customers
- Avoid foreseeable harm to retail customers
- Enable and support retail customers to pursue their financial objectives
The four outcomes
The four outcomes represent the key elements of the firm-client relationship, with the behaviour and actions of firms in relation to each of these outcomes being instrumental in enabling clients to meet their financial needs and improve their financial wellbeing.
- Products and services
- Price and value
- Consumer understanding
- Consumer support
The FCA have placed an expectation that all firms within the financial services sector will:
- Review their current approaches to bring them in line with the Consumer Duty requirements
- Ensure they can evidence outcomes
- Make sure any outcomes are reviewed and monitored on an ongoing basis
- Ensure any issues identified are remedied or mitigated
For the full regulation see https://www.fca.org.uk/firms/consumer-duty
At Ellis Bates our mission is to enhance people’s lives by delivering peace of mind, enabling financial freedom and helping clients achieve their financial goals. We take great pride in leading the way in having these four key outcomes already well and truly embedded in how we look after our clients, both old and new, and continue to work relentlessly on our client experience and outcomes.
Over the last 12 months in the build up to the introduction of the legislation, we have worked closely with the FCA at each stage and worked through each of the firm expectations above. Our teams have collaborated to check and re-check our existing systems and used the new legislation as an opportunity to think even more holistically on how we can improve our client journey and experience still further.
I am very proud of the enthusiasm and energy our teams have shown in embracing Consumer Duty, both as a platform to showcase the good outcomes we consistently deliver already but in challenging ourselves to go even further to achieve the exceptional outcomes our clients readily feedback through the Vouchedfor platform www.vouchedfor.co.uk/firm/1250-ellis-bates-financial-advisers