The vast majority (92 per cent) of advisers attending FT Adviser’s Financial Advice Forum believe that consumer duty has been positive.
At the start of the all day event, advisers present voted by 92 per cent to 8 per cent that the new rules have had a positive impact.
Commenting on the results, Keith Richards, chief executive of the Consumer Duty Alliance and formerly head of the Personal Finance Society (PFS) said: “With previous pieces of regulation, advisers might have voted the other way around. I think the key here is that there is no cliff edge.”
Alexandra Roberts, head of regulatory policy and compliance at Pimfa, said: “Many advice firms used the consumer duty as an opportunity to look at all parts of their business, to really kick the tyres of all parts of the business.
"Most agree that while consumer duty involved a lot of extra work, it was valuable for the business.”
Don McIntyre, the current head of the Personal Finance Society, said there is no doubt the regulations “have widened the advice gap, as the cost of advice has risen because the cost of administration has increased.”
Richards said that in the past many advisers were frustrated by the “tick box” nature of previous regulations, but he feels some advisers struggle to “evidence” their compliance with the rules.
Last month, research by Moneyhub found just 22 per cent of consumers said they had already noticed improvements on how they were being treated, a year since the regulations were introduced.
When respondents were asked about improvements to customer outcomes, 13 per cent said firms had failed to deliver good quality support and after-sales care.
While 12 per cent said firms had failed to deliver communications that help them to make effective financial decisions.
david.thorpe@ft.com
