Consumer Duty – what is it and how will it affect you?
By now, you may have been contacted by your bank or building society, or seen in the press about Consumer Duty. This mailer provides a summary of what it is, who it applies to and how it could affect your interactions with financial services and institutions.
What is Consumer Duty?
Consumer Duty is legislation being introduced from the end of July 2023. Consumer Duty demands that all who operate in the financial services market evidence that they are acting to deliver good outcomes for retail clients.
Who does Consumer Duty apply to?
The scope of the legislation is far reaching and applies to all firms who have an influence over retail customer outcomes. For clients of Fairey Associates, it will apply to us as advisers, the product providers we recommend, as well as the fund managers who manage the underlying holdings within our model portfolios and/or legacy investments and the discretionary fund managers we use.
What are the ‘outcomes’ for retail clients?
The four outcomes that each firm must consider and evidence are
Are Fairey Associates ready for the 31st July 2023 deadline?
We have been working hard in the background to ensure we can demonstrate that our clients best interests are at the core of our processes and services offered. Having followed a detailed implementation plan over the last year we are confident we are ready for 31st July 2023.
We have undertaken detailed assessments of our services, that they offer fair value and the products/solutions we recommend to you are suitable for your requirements at the time of advice.
Will Consumer Duty change the client relationship with Fairey Associates?
Although we have been working hard in the background, we don’t believe the relationship with our clients to be significantly impacted by the legislation as creating positive client outcomes have been at the heart of the services we provide since we started in 2008.
That said, we understand the importance of evolving in order to provide the best service possible to our clients and Consumer Duty has helped us review where we can refine what we do and how we do it – with the ultimate goal of improving client outcomes further. Therefore, any changes felt we expect to be positive.
By now, you may have been contacted by your bank or building society, or seen in the press about Consumer Duty. This mailer provides a summary of what it is, who it applies to and how it could affect your interactions with financial services and institutions.
What is Consumer Duty?
Consumer Duty is legislation being introduced from the end of July 2023. Consumer Duty demands that all who operate in the financial services market evidence that they are acting to deliver good outcomes for retail clients.
Who does Consumer Duty apply to?
The scope of the legislation is far reaching and applies to all firms who have an influence over retail customer outcomes. For clients of Fairey Associates, it will apply to us as advisers, the product providers we recommend, as well as the fund managers who manage the underlying holdings within our model portfolios and/or legacy investments and the discretionary fund managers we use.
What are the ‘outcomes’ for retail clients?
The four outcomes that each firm must consider and evidence are
- Products & Services – we must be able to evidence that the design of our products and services meet the needs, characteristics and objectives of our target markets.
- Price & Value – we must evidence that our products and services give fair value
- Consumer understanding – we must evidence that our communications are understandable and understood by our clients.
- Consumer Support – we must evidence that all clients can realise the benefits of our products or services.
Are Fairey Associates ready for the 31st July 2023 deadline?
We have been working hard in the background to ensure we can demonstrate that our clients best interests are at the core of our processes and services offered. Having followed a detailed implementation plan over the last year we are confident we are ready for 31st July 2023.
We have undertaken detailed assessments of our services, that they offer fair value and the products/solutions we recommend to you are suitable for your requirements at the time of advice.
Will Consumer Duty change the client relationship with Fairey Associates?
Although we have been working hard in the background, we don’t believe the relationship with our clients to be significantly impacted by the legislation as creating positive client outcomes have been at the heart of the services we provide since we started in 2008.
That said, we understand the importance of evolving in order to provide the best service possible to our clients and Consumer Duty has helped us review where we can refine what we do and how we do it – with the ultimate goal of improving client outcomes further. Therefore, any changes felt we expect to be positive.