The old adage remains true. If it isn’t written down,

“If you had to go to court, would your client file stand for the prosecution or the defence?” 

Not something anyone wants to realistically even think about, but what a challenge and rightly so. Making sure you have the evidence in place is becoming a driver in all of the documents and data we have to keep on all client interactions. 

 

I think it's fair to say that 99% of all advisers are doing the ‘right thing’ by their clients! 

We know it. 

We do it. 

But more importantly than ever, we have to make sure we show it. 

 

Consumer Duty (July 23) and the FCA’s Thematic Review of Retirement Income Advice published in March this year, are essentially a push for all IFAs to provide a higher standard of care to their customers and to improve consumer protections and outcomes. The Review pushes advisers even further, ensuring they prioritize the need for robust retirement income advice and outcomes. 

 

This week we saw research released by Wesleyan, where they contacted 300 advisers in August this year to understand how the Thematic Review had been received by advisers and whether the changes were being implemented. It was clear from the results that the majority of advisers were already acting on the FCA review and updating processes and procedures in their businesses. That said, what is becoming increasingly important is there is a clear data trail with all communications with customers logged and documented. 

 

I recently started to record (obviously with permission) all of my Zoom/Teams calls using an AI tool to summarize the call and provide a record of outcomes that can be kept on the client's record as confirmation of our discussions. Protection for both the client and myself against any future misunderstandings or clarifications that may be needed. Client cases are taking far longer to process than they used to and the collection and recording of all communications has added to that. Using technology is also more efficient, saving time and money.