Has your practice been galvanised into action by the result of the general election with an exciting future set fair for you and your clients? Or are you still in limbo, uncertain about the implications of the result?
In my first exclusive column for Financial Adviser, regardless of the Conservatives’ success in the general election, the next few years for financial services hold enormous promise for all of us fortunate enough to be involved in this great profession and the clients we serve.
Yes, there will be some real challenges. For example, tax relief on pension contributions is certain to be reduced so you need to act quickly if you have clients who can benefit from the current higher-rate tax relief. Another more serious challenge could be economic instability caused either internally, through too much austerity or simply by bad management, or externally through the exit of Greece from the Euro. Indeed, it is not impossible that we could suffer a combination of damaging events which would not only blow the UK’s fragile recovery off course, but it could put it in reverse.
The wheels are already set in motion for some of the biggest issues facing clients over the coming months and years. Auto-enrolment and pension freedom will have a huge impact on the lives of the vast majority of adults in the UK. It is unlikely in the extreme that we will see a u-turn in either of these areas, and it is equally certain that clients will continue to desperately need the help which only a professional financial adviser is able to deliver.
In good times and bad, high markets and low markets, it is the role of professional advisers to look after their clients and in particular guard them against the financial consequences of the twin dangers of dying too soon or living too long. All the evidence is that the public is increasingly recognising the value of high quality financial advice from someone they trust. Indeed, our profession is at last winning the trust of the nation – one person, one family and one business at a time. I look forward to sharing my ideas and thoughts with you in future articles so that you can share in the fantastic opportunities ahead.
Ken Davy is chairman of SimplyBiz Group
