Newsletter - Hear from the regulator direct, and more free resources

The FCA event ‘ONE YEAR ON’ will focus on:

*  The impact the Duty has had in its first year.

*  Examples of good practice and areas for improvement.

*  FCA priorities for the year ahead.

We'll provide an overview of the key points and links to the post-event resources. The trade publications and compliance support service providers will also cover the event.

Annual Reports Deadline 

Of course, 31 July is also the deadline for all regulated firms to produce their first annual report – for small firms this might be better described as an annual business plan which demonstrates the firm's focus on consumer outcomes. Larger firms typically incorporate an annual strategy review which is signed off by the Board and will now need to incorporate evidence of an outcomes focus.

A key purpose of this report is to demonstrate a firm’s focus and evidencing the effectiveness of its actions – there are multiple business benefits to this report also! We've worked with Kroll to produce a guide Developing an effective assessment framework that aims to make the Consumer Duty annual report process easier for firms of all sizes. 

Free Consumer Duty Diagnostic and Benchmarking Tool 

We recently launched our free Consumer Duty diagnostic and benchmarking tool, powered by award-winning AI RegTech platform Model Office, which aims to help members benchmark their activity against all of the FCA’s Duty requirements.

You can complete this tool as often as appropriate meaning its resulting reports can provide an audit trail of a firm’s progress.

Change to Employment Law 

Another key deadline to be aware of is the Carer's Leave Act, which came into effect on 6 April 2024. It means all employees now have the right to take up to one week’s unpaid leave in any 12-month period to give or arrange care for a dependent with a long-term care need. There is no minimum service requirement to qualify for this right, and the Act applies to England, Scotland and Wales. Find out more.

Retirement Income Checklist

The FCA's Thematic Review, published in March, revealed some areas for improvement in the retirement advice market. I recently joined a Legal & General webinar to discuss the key findings and what the regulators expectations of good practice look like.

We've also produced a handy best-practice checklist which aims to help you evolve your advice strategy in line with the findings of the FCA's Thematic Review, and ensure you're providing the best financial outcomes both pre and post-retirement for your clients. 

New Talent Alliance in Action 

Lastly, it’s really exciting to see the momentum created by the New Talent Alliance under the leadership of Tom Hegarty, complemented by an enthusiastic and energetic Steering Group – watch out for a new dedicated website section coming soon.

The NTA has a number of exciting initiatives underway and if you’re interested in ideas for recruiting and developing staff, or want to get involved, please follow them on LinkedIn – it’s the best way to keep updated with all of their activity.

To be recognised as a true profession - united we evolve, divided we fail!

Very best wishes,

Keith Richards, CEO, Consumer Duty Alliance and Chairman, Financial Vulnerability Taskforce

The tool is free to Alliance members, easy to use and offers a variety of benefits including:

• Diagnostic question sets enabling firms to benchmark performance against the Duty.
• Aggregated dashboards, breaking down the Duty into its constituent parts.
• Automated gap analysis, audit reports and a real-time action tracker platform so firms can evidence actions taken to improve performance.
• Links to relevant regulatory and Alliance resources, including good practice guidance.
• Financial resilience diagnostic for firms to gain automated guidance on their financial KPIs and strength.

This tool could prove invaluable if you’re preparing your annual report, or just want to benchmark your activity against all the FCA's Duty requirements. 

Get your free diagnostic tool.

This Alliance guide Developing an effective assessment framework aims to make the Consumer Duty annual report process easier for firms of all sizes. 

Produced in partnership with Kroll’s UK Regulatory Consulting team and a panel of practitioners, it provides clear and pragmatic guidance on important subjects such as:

• Preparing a firm for the report’s requirements, recognising proportionality for small firms.
• The key elements to incorporate within the annual report.
• What to include in an assessment.
• Show to structure the report so it’s aligned with FCA expectations and sector-wide good practice.

Download your copy.

Evidencing consumer understanding of financial concepts is a key requirement of Consumer Duty, and a new resource can help you achieve that.

Award-winning video technology company, Money Alive is offering all Alliance members a free version of their popular Office product.

This new video boxset enables Alliance members to send clients interactive educational video experiences on the universally important topics of investment risk and scams, then evidence their engagement and understanding.

Both videos include the Money Alive Office reporting feature which helps firms evidence a client’s engagement and understanding.

Register for your free boxsets.

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