Having just been appointed as the Compliance Officer for K T Financial Services I’ve been asked to write a short piece talking about how “compliance” affects the financial services industry today and, more importantly what it means to our clients.

 

Despite having many years experience in the industry I am new to the role, so I took it upon myself to consult The Concise Oxford Dictionary to find out exactly what the term Compliance Officer means. Compliance is defined as “the act or an instance of complying; obedience to a request, command etc”. Officer means “a person holding a position of authority or trust”. The title therefore implies that I am a person who has the authority to command people and that they must obey my requests. Sounds like a dream job, doesn’t it!

 

Of course there is more to the job than just ordering people about. As I’m sure many of you will know we are regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) which is responsible for ensuring that the financial industry operates in a proper fashion and that those that work in it treat their customers fairly. Since the Financial Services Act of 1986 there has been constant and dramatic change in the way that Independent Financial Advice is offered to clients. In the “olden days” an adviser would identify a client need during the course of a very sales driven conversation and, more likely than not, have an application form in their brief case which miraculously matched this need. With the client signed up there and then, the adviser would leave the client’s home with a skip and a jump as he made his way down their driveway totting up the amount of commission that he would earn for his ability to persuade Mr & Mrs Gullible that what they really wanted matched what he really wanted to sell them.

 

Fortunately, this type of “advice” is not available these days. We all moan about rules, regulations, and red tape, but over the years increased regulation has changed our industry from one that sells products into one that advises on complex financial matters. Tedious though it may sometimes seem (for adviser and client alike) to have to go through reams of paperwork, analysis, and reporting, the end result is a recommendation which takes into account the client’s circumstances and objectives, and is tailor made for them. You may even find that our advice is not to do something! All fees and/or commission are disclosed at the outset and the level of initial and ongoing service is discussed so that the client understands what we will do for them and how much it will cost. When you talk to an adviser these days you know that you will be entrusting your finances to somebody with at least a minimum level of qualification and possibly much higher (look out for the letters after their name). All advisers also have to follow a programme of Continued Professional Development (CPD) which ensures that their knowledge is constantly improving and kept up to date.

 

So, after all that, what is my job? My job is to ensure that all of our staff follow the FSA guidelines, but more importantly, treat our customers fairly. Why don’t you take a look at our 'About Us' section where you can find out all about our professional advisers and a whole lot more?

 

Jerry Ware Dip PFS