About The Cross Border Alliance
The Cross Border Alliance (CBA) has been established as a forum to identify and create good practices for handling UK citizens or residents who work/live globally and have cross-border assets and advice/planning needs. Its mantra and overriding purpose is “Continuity of Advice- wherever you live.”
The CBA will support the delivery of its objectives by:
- Engaging with key stakeholders, including professional bodies, trade bodies, regulators, government departments, policymakers, consumer bodies, and providers active in the cross-border markets to influence the development of good practice and shared information to best support more global consumers needing consistent and long-term financial advice.
- Coordinating input from firms operating across the financial planning distribution chain (including distributors, product providers and other key participants such as unregulated service providers) to identify opportunities to deliver better outcomes for consumers and better information to advisers.
- Providing information and guidance (based on shared good practice) around working with cross-border consumers, specifically aimed at most smaller brokerages across the UK who struggle with getting significant legal advice but need to support long-term clients or advise on UK assets for those living or working outside the UK.
- Advising on FCA initiatives that impact cross-border advice and UK assets, investment and plan.
- Liaising with the Federation of European Independent Financial Advisers (FEIFA) - a non-profit organisation that represents and supports financial advisers operating in Europe.
Current FCA Cross-Border Guidance for firms
Considerations for firms after the transition period
The FCA explains how the end of the UK–EU transition period (31 December 2020) affects UK and EEA firms, including passporting, regulatory obligations, data transfers, and customer communications. It also outlines what firms should already have done and what they must continue to do.
Considerations for firms after the transition period | FCA
The Berne Financial Services Agreement
This is a new mutual‑recognition framework between the UK and Switzerland. It makes it easier for UK and Swiss firms to provide certain cross‑border financial services to each other’s wholesale and sophisticated clients. The agreement took effect on 1 January 202
Berne Financial Services Agreement for UK and Swiss firms | FCA
https://www.fca.org.uk/publication/corporate/berne-financial-services-agreement-guidelines-firms.pdf
Other useful information
The ESMA statement ESMA35-43-2509
ESMA’s “Public Statement – Reminder to firms of the MiFID II rules on ‘reverse solicitation’ in the context of the recent end of the UK transition period”, dated 13 January 2021,
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) issued this statement to remind firms of the strict rules under MiFID II governing reverse solicitation — when an EU client initiates investment services from a non‑EU firm entirely on their own initiative. ESMA is reinforcing that reverse solicitation is a narrow exemption, not a loophole. Firms cannot rely on disclaimers to avoid EU authorisation requirements, and any marketing activity in the EU disqualifies the use of reverse solicitation.
esma35-43-2509_statement_on_reverse_solicitation.pdf
Eversheds Sutherland client briefing summarising the ESMA January 2021 public statement and its implications for UK firms.
This remains a useful explanation of the ESMA statement. Eversheds warn that UK firms without EU authorisation risk civil, administrative or even criminal action if they are seen to be soliciting EU clients. Firms relying on reverse solicitation should review their procedures, record‑keeping and marketing to ensure they are not inadvertently promoting services in the EU. However, reverse solicitation remains a legitimate route under both EU and UK law, and UK firms may provide services where an EU client genuinely initiates the contact on their own exclusive initiative.
THE EVOLUTION OF FINANCIAL PLANNING AND RAISING STANDARDS TOGETHER
Join the Alliance and the FCA at these unique free-to-attend regional conferences. You'll get the opportunity to interact directly with the FCA, get insight from a variety of subject matter experts and practitioners, and network with other financial professionals and our professional partners.
The first conferences in Scotland, Newcastle and Belfast were a great success, generating a 91% likelihood to recommend score from a combined audience of 535.
There is just one more opportunity to join one of these conferences - spaces are limited, so act quickly to book your seat:
- Vale of Glamorgan, near Cardiff (21 January 2026).
Click on the bars below to learn more about the agenda and speakers.
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Outline Conference Agenda
Every conference will follow a similar structure with the same FCA involvement. Some non-FCA speakers and sessions may vary according to location but will always be of equivalent callibre.
The agenda for the next regional conference in the Vale of Glamorgan is shown below. It's packed with a variety of current topics and insightful speakers, and includes a minimum of four hours’ structured CPD.
08:30
REGISTRATION AND REFRESHMENTS
09:30
Welcome and Introduction
Nick Birdseye (Strategic Partner Development Director, L&G)
Consumer Duty & Evolution of Financial Planning
Keith Richards (Chief Executive Officer, Consumer Duty Alliance)
New Era of Regulation
Nick Hulme (Head of Department - Advisers, Wealth and Pensions, FCA)
A Focus on Vulnerability
Interactive session and case study, hosted by Patrick Cassidy and Rachel Stewart (FCA)
11:10
REFRESHMENTS, NETWORKING AND EXHIBITION
Foreseeable Harms in the Advice Process
James Macaulay and Maureen Purvis (Senior Pension Transfer Specialists, FCA)
Navigating Retirement Planning in a Changing Landscape
Chaired by Nick Birdseye with panelists: Rebecca Stein (Head of Tailored Discretionary Management, Charles Stanley), Basil Anderson (BDM, L&Gl), Zayd Ahmad (Business Consultancy Manager, Simplybiz), Andrew Pike (Head of Intermediary Relationships, NS&I)
Consumer Duty Alliance - Consumer Initiative
Andy Kirby (Founder, MoneyAlive), an Alliance Affiliate
13:00
LUNCH, NETWORKING AND EXHIBITION
Vulnerability in Practice –
panel and Q&ATony Miles (Technical Director, CDA), Jacqueline Berry (MD, My Care Consultant) and Robin Melley (Chair, Financial Vulnerability Taskforce and MD at Matrix Capital Ltd)
Technology in Practice
Chris Davies (Founder, Model Office)
Succession Planning and a New Talent Alliance
Tom Hegarty (Chair, New Talent Alliance and CEO, Simplybiz)
The Four Outcomes of Consumer Duty
James Macaulay (FCA),, Andy Kirby and Michael Lawrence (Consulting Lead, Ocorian)
15:35
Closing remarks
Nick Birdseye and Keith Richards
EVENT ENDS, REFRESHMENTS ON DEPARTURE
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Speaker Profiles
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Nick Hulme
Head of Department of Advisers, Wealth and Pensions in the Consumer Investments Directorate, FCA
Nick joined the FCA in 2019 after a decade in financial stability and prudential supervision roles at the FSA, Bank of England and Prudential Regulation Authority.
He has also worked in private office for two Ministers of State at HM Treasury. Prior to this role in Consumer Investments, he worked in the FCA’s Financial Resilience Department.
He holds an MBA Dip from Said Business School, Oxford University and is a publicly elected volunteer Governor of East Kent Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
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Sara Woodroffe
Interim Head of Department, Market Analysis, FCA
Sara is the interim Head of the FCA's Market Analysis Department (which includes the policy, market analysis and intelligence teams. Sara has held a variety of roles at the FCA and recently managed the Sustainable Finance Division's policy and advisory team, and the perimeter change ESG ratings team.
Sara started her career as a supervisor in consumer investments and has undertaken a range of management roles, taking in the FCA’s response to challenges from increases in the cost of living, the response to the Covid-19 crisis and has led mortgage and credit policy teams.
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Keith Richards
Chief Executive Officer at Consumer Duty Alliance
A recognised leader within the financial services sector, with over 35 years’ experience operating at executive level across manufacturing, distribution, financial planning and regulation. He previously led the successful evolution of the largest professional membership body for personal finance in the UK and internationally, the Personal Finance Society (PFS).
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Vanessa Barnes
Managing Partner and Chartered Financial Planner at Hannay Wealth LLP
Vanessa has led an all female form of financial planners since 1996. She also chairs then Women’s Wealth Alliance working group within the Consumer Duty Alliance.
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Simon Crystal
CEO and founder of WPS Advisory Limited.
With heritage dating back to 2015, WPS provides access to support, guidance and advice, historically this was primarily via the workplace and/or pension scheme.
WPS launched its new LifeStage Money App direct to consumers on 31 July 2025, by 18 August the App had in excess of 9,250 subscribers.
The App delivers open-banking functionality, other key features are focused upon helping subscribers identify and achieve reductions in expenditure alongside cash-flow based retirement guidance. From an advice perspective there is integrated Smart Search functionality, a document safe and integrated fact-finding.
Simon has worked in the financial and pensions sector since 1989.
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Tom Hegarty
Chair of the New Talent Alliance, CEO at Simplybiz
Tom Hegarty has recently been appointed as the CEO of Simplybiz. Prior to this role, he served as Managing Director at M&G Wealth Advice, where he was instrumental in establishing The Advice Partnership and launched the M&G Wealth Advice Academy in 2021.
Before his tenure at M&G, he was the Managing Director of the New Model Business Academy, a not-for-profit subsidiary of Fintel (formerly the Simplybiz Group), where he developed one of the UK’s first apprenticeship programmes in financial advice.
His career in financial services now spans three decades, during which time he has gathered experience across the entire sector with perspectives of adviser, provider, network, and training academy. As well as his role as Chair of the New Talent Alliance, he also chairs the Apprenticeship Trailblazer Group for the financial advice profession, therefore focusing on initiatives to attract new talent into the sector.
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Jane Hodges
Managing Director at Money Honey Financial Planning
Jane has over 30 years of experience in the financial services sector, as a financial planner/advisor, executive manager, project manager, compliance expert and technologist.
She runs her own financial planning practice and is a Chartered Financial Planner, Fellow of the PFS, Associate of CII, and SOLLA accredited. Recently passed the STEP certificate for Financial Advisers to support estate planning needs.
She has also trained as a Prince 2 Practitioner, contributed to the CII as a Question Writer and Examiner, judged the Money Marketing Awards, and speaks professionally worldwide.
Jane champions technology to deliver paper-free services and streamlined solutions, keeping client fees low and service high. Her team works remotely using cloud technology, engaging with clients through video conferences and client portals only.
She loves learning with over 100 hours of recorded CPD every year so maintains a broad level of expertise on many subjects and is committed to sharing best practices, regularly adding to case discussions on Lifetalk.
Jane is Chair to the new Consumer Duty Cross-Border Alliance seeking to help the profession understand how best to assist UK Expats and to lobby regulators and governments to reduce detriment and make good advice more easily obtainable.
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Robin Melley, TEP, Chartered MCSI, FLIBF, FPFS
Chair of the Financial Vulnerability Taskforce, Founder and Managing Director at Matrix Capital Ltd
Robin was named PFS Chartered Financial Planner of the Year in 2013 and 2020, his qualifications include Trust and Estate Practitioner and Full Member of The Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP).
Matrix won Small advice firm of the year in the Money Marketing Awards 2022 and Financial Advisor Team of the Year in the STEP Private Client Awards 2020.
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John Porteous FCSI, CFP, FPFS, IMC
Managing Director, Central Financial Services & Chief Client Officer at Charles Stanley
John has over 30 years' industry experience having held a number senior executive positions across the wealth management and platform industry.
John joined Charles Stanley in March 2019 as Head of Distribution and has spent the last three years in the role of Managing Director, Central Financial Services.
He joined Charles Stanley from Quilter PLC, where he was the group’s Retail Client Services Solutions Director. Prior to that, John was Director in charge of overall Client Proposition at Tilney (formerly Towry), also chairing their Investment Committee.
A regular presenter at industry conferences events, John, over his career, has been appointed to a number of influential industry roles including Chairman of the Society of Financial Advisers, Director of Institute of Financial Planning and Council Member/Director of APFA.
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Maureen Purvis
Senior Associate, Cross-cutting Portfolio team (Advisers, Wealth & Pensions Department) at FCA
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Fiona Tait, ACII, FPFS
Advice and Compliance Director, Intelligent Pensions
Fiona has over 30 years’ experience in pensions, including lengthy service with Aegon Scottish Equitable and Royal London where she was involved in training, presenting and writing technical articles for financial advisers.
Fiona joined retirement planning specialist Intelligent Pensions in 2017 and is responsible for ensuring that the advice delivered by the firm meets quality and compliance standards. She holds the position of SMF16 and has been heavily involved in updating the firm’s documentation and advice processes.
Special interests include in promoting consumer understanding, addressing gender biases in the industry and anything to do with pension policy.
She is qualified as a Pension Transfer Specialist, Chartered Financial Planner and Fellow of the Personal Finance Society. She is also a 3 times past President of the Local Institute of the CII in Edinburgh, a Governor of The Pensions Policy Institute and a member of the Consumer Duty Alliance.
Fiona lives in North Berwick with her husband, a teenager and a slightly mad cockapoo.
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THANKS TO OUR CONFERENCE PARTNERS FOR THEIR SUPPORT
Just is the UK’s leading providers of specialist financial services solutions, completely focused on meeting the needs of people thinking about, approaching, or in retirement. We provide products and services to help our customers achieve a better later life and believe that financial intermediaries are best placed to help people with the choices they need to make to achieve this.
We’re delighted to be working in collaboration with the Consumer Duty Alliance again this year. These events offer a great opportunity to connect with Alliance members who share a commitment to good practice and positive customer outcomes, as well as with industry experts and the FCA.
Established in 1836, L&G is one of the UK's leading financial services groups and a major global investor, with £1.1 trillion in total assets under management.
L&G’s Retail business helps create brighter financial futures for all our customers. The division covers the savings, protection and retirement needs of our c.14 million retail policyholders and workplace members.
As Foundation Affiliates of the Consumer Duty Alliance, we’re a proud partner of the regional conferences. We look forward to meeting you and discussing the role of guaranteed income in retirement planning.
Albemarle is a trusted investment management partner for independent financial advisers. With a disciplined, academically robust approach, we're committed to enhancing advisers' propositions, supporting long-term business growth, and delivering consistent outcomes for clients. Albemarle strives to provide excellent service, ensuring value for money without compromising on quality.
Partnering with the Alliance supports our commitment to upholding the FCA’s Consumer Duty, placing client outcomes at the heart of our proposition and governance processes.
Request a copy of Investors' Guide to Markets, designed to help advisers have better client conversations.
The "Benchmark difference” is the value created through superior productivity and experience, and we support advisers with the full end-to-end financial planning process, delivering measurable advantages through integrated practice management, regulatory support, client portal and investment platform.
We support 1,000+ advisers with the technology, tools and compliance services they need to confidently and successfully deliver Consumer Duty outcomes.
Partnering on Alliance events helps us stay at the forefront of best practice and continue to evolve our proposition.
Ask us how the Value Framework can help you understand and measure the value advisers offer to clients, beyond financial metrics.
BNY's goal is to build and manage investment strategies that meet the ever-changing needs of our clients. BNY Investments’ model offers specialist expertise from our forward-thinking seven investment firms, with solutions across every major asset class, backed by the strength, scale and proven financial stewardship of BNY.
The past decade has seen a wave of economic, political, and regulatory change, and we're excited to partner with the Alliance on these events to hear how we can help support financial advisers to navigate changing environments and assist them in delivering the client and commercial outcomes they are seeking.
Download our latest Retirement Advice Report.
Brooks Macdonald Group plc is a leading UK wealth management firm, headquartered in London. Since its founding in 1991, the company has grown to manage over £18 billion in client assets, as of March 2025. Brooks Macdonald offers a range of innovative investment solutions, including bespoke and managed portfolio services, financial planning, and responsible investment options.
Committed to exceptional client service and strong personal relationships, Brooks Macdonald looks forward to active participation in the Alliance's national events and working groups. This involvement aligns with their dedication to sharing best practices and navigating pivotal regulatory and commercial changes in the industry.
At Charles Stanley, our investment services are designed to give you the time to look after the personal and professional relationship with your clients whilst we look after your client’s investments. With more than 200 years’ proven experience, we have created financial security for many tens of thousands of people. As at 31 December 2024 we manage and administer in excess of £27 billion.
Investment solutions include Bespoke Discretionary Fund Management, Tailored Income, and an Inheritance Tax Portfolio service.
The Consumer Duty Alliance can coordinate, share and promote understanding and good Consumer Duty practice for the benefit of the wider market.
Dynamic Planner is the UK’s most popular investment advice platform, serving over 40% of firms across the country. With a rapidly evolving regulatory landscape, we focus on helping advisers and wealth managers to achieve and evidence compliance in an increasingly digital world.
Partnering with the Alliance extends our ability to provide timely updates to our systems, ensuring customers are at the forefront of change and remain aligned with new regulations. This assurance, along with the way Dynamic Planner streamlines processes, helps our customers save time so they can focus on what matters most.
Foresight Group, founded in 1984 and now a FTSE 250 company with an AUM of over £13Bn, is an Investment Manager specialising in the Tax-Efficient space and Infrastructure. With offices across the UK, Europe and Australia, we leverage our global expertise to drive best outcomes for our clients and valued partners. This could be via our suite of OEIC’s, VCT’s or our market leading Inheritance Tax Solution.
As Consumer Duty continues to take centre stage for advisers, we’re committed to supporting best practice and helping to prevent foreseeable harm to investors.
Graphene is an Infrastructure-as-a-Service provider, dedicated to empowering wealth managers with the technology and support they need to own and operate data-driven wealth propositions.
By delivering scalable infrastructure and deep operational expertise, Graphene simplifies the complexities of data and platform ownership – enabling clients to take full control of their data and value chain while minimising the costs and risks of managing it independently.
LIBF has supported professionals in banking and finance since 1879. We offer flexible, globally recognised qualifications designed to help individuals and firms meet the highest standards of professionalism, knowledge and customer care. Our programmes span regulated advice, retail and commercial banking, and trade finance.
As proud Affiliates of the Consumer Duty Alliance, we’re committed to raising educational standards and supporting firms in delivering the best outcomes for consumers. We’re especially passionate about attracting new talent into financial advice – helping firms build a strong, future-ready profession through education and succession planning.
NS&I is committed to supporting the financial advice industry in looking after the finances of many high-value consumers. Currently, 1.6 million NS&I clients have £50,000+ invested, and 13,000+ have over £1 million, with many seeking financial advice at some point.
All NS&I savings products are 100% secure, backed by HM Treasury. Premium Bonds are our flagship product, but we also offer ISA, fixed-term and easy-access saving products.
Partnering with the Alliance’s events helps us to engage directly with advisers to better understand common concerns and work collectively to address them.
Don’t forget to register with our award-winning online service and get easy access to all information on your clients’ NS&I holdings. Visit
NS&I adviser for more information.
At Octopus Investments, we offer a range of tax-efficient investment solutions, including Venture Capital Trusts and Business Relief-qualifying services, giving advisers more ways to help clients grow their wealth while benefiting from tax advantages.
Consumer Duty has sharpened the focus on value, clarity and good outcomes. We believe advisers are best placed to meet these expectations when they have access to the right education, tools and options. That’s where we come in.
As legislation and regulation continue to shift, advisers are under increasing pressure to demonstrate the suitability and effectiveness of their recommendations. Our support is designed to help them do just that – by providing the expertise and solutions they need to stay confident in a changing landscape.
Quilter is pleased to partner with the Consumer Duty Alliance, recognising that Consumer Duty is pivotal to our success. This transformative regulatory shift ensures that customer interests are deeply embedded in our company's culture and operations.
Our commitment shines through in Quilter's financial planning, where we offer high-quality advice and bespoke investment solutions tailored to meet the evolving needs of our customers, fostering compliance with new standards and enhancing trust and transparency.
Simplybiz is the leading provider of technology, business, and regulatory support to the UK retail financial services industry, helping financial professionals operate more effectively and deliver better outcomes for consumers.
Supporting thousands of intermediaries, our end-to-end platform connects and enables the sector to help it evolve to its greatest potential. Driven by our belief in the value of professional financial advice, we exist to help intermediaries create better consumer outcomes.
We look forward to speaking to as many of you as possible at the Alliance conferences, sharing ideas, best practice, and insight as we work towards our shared goal of shaping a better financial future for all.
Vanguard is a different kind of investment company, founded in the United States in 1975 on a simple but revolutionary idea: that an investment company should manage its funds solely in the interests of its clients.
This is a philosophy that has helped millions of people around the world to achieve their goals with low-cost, uncomplicated investments.
We stand for value to investors and partnering on these events allows us to engage first-hand with advisers and work together on supporting clients to reach their goals.
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