For professional adviser use only
As providers move to turn off the trail commission taps, writes Tim Sargisson, advisers must recognise the urgent need to ensure they remain in control of their revenue streams It was interesting to read the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has “no immediate plans” to change its policy on trail commission but is still considering the […]
Read more
Sandringham Financial Partners (Sandringham), one of the leading national advice firms in the UK, has announced it has moved from a restricted advice proposition to whole of market, independent status. Following robust changes to Sandringham’s offering over the last few years to strengthen customer engagement and to help its Partners in building proficient businesses, Sandringham […]
Read more
There is genuine concern some advisers are swerving their responsibilities after giving poor advice, writes Tim Sargisson, but also evidence of firms rising from the ashes of failed advice businesses My sole motivation for writing this piece is to try and make a modest contribution towards improving how, as advisers, we engage with our customers […]
Read more
Thanks to the considerable efforts of the winners, there was plenty of good news arising from the recent Professional Adviser Awards but, says Tim Sargisson, very little of it will escape the bubble advisers occupy ‘The superior man understands what is right, the inferior man understands what will sell.’ Maybe I’m alone in attending an […]
Read more
More negative headlines in recent weeks have not enhanced the reputation of the adviser community yet, says Tim Sargisson, 2018 must be the year for a concerted collective effort to demonstrate how it adds value. Before we go any further – a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year to all Professional Adviser readers. Still, it has been […]
Read more
Some of the stories about advice to British Steel Pension Scheme members shame financial services, says Tim Sargisson, and until such behaviour stops, the sector will always struggle to be viewed as a true ‘profession’ As a small boy I still remember the sense of awe crossing the then recently opened Severn Bridge, with its […]
Read more
Tim Sargisson highlights three concerns he believes should be viewed as critically important by any financial advice firm whose business model might put it in the category of ’empire builders’ Another month, another conference – this time, Platforum and its Annual Investment Retail Conference, superbly organised by Heather Hopkins and her team and chaired by […]
Read more
The attractions of robo-advice should be obvious to most financial services providers but what is considerably less clear, writes Tim Sargisson, is how to deal with the challenge of building scale Stifle a collective yawn, if you can, but ‘the robots are coming’ is news again. Channel 4 has a new series, The Rise of the […]
Read more
For many advisers, business sustainability revolves around a ruthless focus on technology but, argues Tim Sargisson, while new technology comes and goes, the principle of being customer-centric remains It was a pleasure to be asked to be a panellist in a recent roadshow discussion on the subject of business model success stories. Chaired by Personal […]
Read more
Three very different stories about the financial advice profession he saw in the space of a couple of days inevitably put Tim Sargisson in mind of the title of a well-known spaghetti western. As it is August and many of us are on our summer holidays, I thought a more whimsical title might be appropriate. […]
Read more
In a commoditised world, a platform is just another bit of kit, argues Tim Sargisson – so, if you are prepared to pay for a licence for a back office, why not build or license your own platform? My previous two blogs both focused on platforms. In May, I looked at the FCA’s concerns about […]
Read more
Platforms increasingly want to take on the role of guiding advisers toward a smaller number of funds and that, says Tim Sargisson, will clearly represent a challenge for whole-of-market practitioners My previous blog highlighted the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) concerns about platforms. “We will conduct a market study to explore how ‘direct to consumer’ and […]
Read more