Editor’s Comment: A duty to be profitable

So will it be a Blue Monday or a Red Letter Day?

It’s realistically too early to say but one thing is true: there’s been much written about the consumer element of the Consumer Duty but less about the word ‘duty’ and its meaning.

So what is a ‘duty’ and is the FCA expecting too much?

The online dictionary (Google / Oxford Languages) gives two meanings for the word ‘duty.’ The first is a “a moral or legal obligation; a responsibility as in ‘it’s my duty to uphold the law.’”

The second meaning is a little wider: “a task or action that one is required to perform as part of one’s job as in ”the queen’s official duties.”

Both meanings apply to Financial Planners who will now have a ‘duty’ – a constant role, if you like – to act only in the best and fairest interests of their clients. A fiduciary duty, in other words.

Introducing new regulations to enforce what should already have been an essential part of financial advice – looking after the client first and foremost – has always seemed a bit of overkill to me but nevertheless making explicitly clear what the requirements are for providers and advisers may be no bad thing.

The FCA has promised to enforce breaches of the new rules swiftly and robustly but I believe it will tread carefully, at least at first. It’s also worth pointing out that the FCA also has a new duty itself to ensure a strong and competitive financial services sector. Killing off parts of the sector in one fell sweep with some strict new regulations may not be in the best interests of financial regulation long term or what the government actually wants. It has a balancing act to achieve.

In terms of implementation most planners and firms I have spoken too recently, including several CEOs, have been confident they are ready for the Consumer Duty and are happy to embed it within their processes, as it should be.

However, I think some have been perhaps too quick to assert that they already comply with the Consumer Duty. Some firms may need to make more changes than others and some of those changes may related to charges and fees.

Wealth manager St James’s Place has already said this week that it will be trimming long term charges for clients, a move that has potentially been inspired by the Consumer Duty requirements. It was also a change that caused its share price to fall. The Consumer Duty changes may not be easy for some.

For Financial Planning and wealth firms, fees and charges may need to be justified a little more cogently in future. Firms charging 50% more than their rival down the road may need to explain why to the regulator. Justifying charges and fees could well become a minefield.

I suspect most Consumer Duty changes will be good for consumers and I welcome them but the FCA will have to take on board that Financial Planning firm owners also have a duty to make a profit and a duty to run strong, successful firms. Nothing else happens without this, Consumer Duty or not.

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Kevin O’Donnell is editor of Financial Planning Today and has worked as a journalist and editor for over four decades.

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