Taking Vulnerability Serioulsy

As you may know, financial advice is a heavily regulated industry (and rightly so). Our regulatory body, Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), update guidance from time to time and one of the hot topics of late has been about vulnerability.

Vulnerability can come in a range of guises, and can be temporary, sporadic or permanent in nature. A vulnerable consumer is someone who, due to their personal circumstances, is especially susceptible to detriment, particularly when a firm is not acting with appropriate levels of care.

The latest guidance from the FCA aims to drive improvements in the way firms treat vulnerable consumers so that they are consistently able to achieve outcomes that are as good as everybody else’s. Many people in vulnerable situations would not diagnose themselves as ‘vulnerable’ but a surprising 27.7 million adults in the UK now have characteristics of vulnerability such as poor health, experiencing negative life events, low financial resilience, or low capability.

Financial services need to be able to adapt to the changing circumstances that real life throws at people, rather than being designed for the mythical ‘perfect’ customer who never experiences difficulty.

Vulnerability can affect people in any consumer market, but it is particularly challenging in the context of financial services due in part to the long-term nature of commitments, and how complex some of the information and products can be.

Vulnerability is a fluid state that requires a flexible, tailored response from financial advice firms to ensure there is absolutely no detriment to being a vulnerable person, or in a vulnerable situation.

Since September, we have been working on an internal project focussing on ensuring our team are trained to the highest level and that we are using the very best practices so we can be sure we are providing the same level of service to everyone, whether they are vulnerable or not – and often, happily going above and beyond when it is needed to support our clients.

We have all undertaken rigorous vulnerability training which is recommended by the Society of Later Life Advisers (SOLLA), we are proud to be ‘Dementia Friends’ and working towards making the local area as dementia friendly as possible. Our founder, Richard Higgs is currently working towards achieving SOLLA Accredited Member status which is really the gold standard in later life advice.

As a firm, we have signed the Financial Vulnerability Taskforce Charter which sets out how professionals who commit to it are expected to work with customers in vulnerable circumstances. As a team, we are absolutely committed to the 9 principles and to treating everyone as an individual, with a bespoke approach to each person’s situation.

The Charter information can be viewed here, along with helpful pages such as, ‘What To Expect’. This will hopefully help by making it clear our office accessibility situation, our meeting process and also that we are more than happy to make adjustments if you let us know what is needed.

Although this project will forever be a ‘work in progress’, we are confident that we are ahead of the curve in terms of the FCA guidance and as always, putting our client’s wellbeing as our very first priority.

If you feel you could benefit from having a chat with one of our specialist advisers about your later life financial needs, we would be so pleased to offer a complimentary financial planning review. Whether you are vulnerable or not, we always have your best interests at heart.

Call 0117 363 212 or email office@haroldstephens.co.uk to arrange a relaxed chat about your circumstances with one of our advisers.