‘Regulation is impacting advisers’ mental health’

Speaking to FTAdviser, Grierson discussed how smaller firms are bearing the brunt of regulatory pressures which in turn is affecting employees' mental wellbeing. 

She said: “If you are a small firm, not only are you running the business, you have the commercial success of it resting on your shoulders, you have clients and employees to think about and then on top of that you need to try to understand and implement big chunks of regulatory change.

“This can start to take its toll on advisers who don’t want to get it wrong for their clients.” 

Grierson pointed out that consumer duty was the “final nail in the coffin” for firms that were thinking of selling due to the pressure it placed on businesses and their employees.

She said: “In the past year especially we have seen a sense of urgency from advisers looking to sell their business because consumer duty was the final straw for them. 

“Although the new piece of regulation is a good thing, it can cause advisers to become worried and anxious from not knowing what to do with it, coupled with the added concern that the regulator might pay them a visit and take a deep dive into what they’re doing. Even for me that's stressful and it's my job.” 

Grierson said the burden consumer duty places on advisers' wellbeing comes from the ‘prove it’ aspect of the regulation. 

“We must prove we have taken all reasonable steps to deliver value to clients and that our work has helped them to pursue their goals.

"This requires so much more than simply advising on a financial product and selecting funds - the financial advice of old - but real investment in technology and people and a change of mindset."

Operational vulnerability 

From a regulatory perspective, Grierson suggested the regulator needs to recognise employee vulnerability.

“I always put employee wellbeing in my reporting because ultimately if the employee is not able to do their job this impacts the service we offer clients and what they get from us," she said.

“The regulator has done lots of work in respect of vulnerability for clients and the resilience of operations but not so much operational vulnerability.”

Grierson also wanted to see more focus and support given to human resource and people management as it is a fundamental part of what the advice sector does. 

She added: “The FCA is a consumer regulator, it is there to protect the client but you would hope that would follow through into client outcomes by helping the people who serve those clients.” 

Support from employers 

Grierson highlighted the importance of diversity in how employers and employees treat and care for each other. 

She said: “It is always important to help people on an individual level and understand that everyone’s needs and worries are different. 

“You may have people who are struggling financially, people going through vulnerabilities in their lives, illnesses and we like people to share those things if they’re able, so that the team understands we are all vulnerable and we are here to help.” 

But she said it was also vital for employers to show vulnerability to staff as well. 

She said: “By showing vulnerability to staff it shows that we’re not this entity they can’t communicate with. 

“When I started out it was a case of you didn’t talk about your mental health or your personal problems at work.” 

She added the industry has come a long way in the sense that more people feel comfortable to speak up about their struggles but there is always more to do to improve work culture and environments.

“I don’t think I have ever come across an adviser who doesn’t want to do a great job for clients and part of their job is to support clients and to have open and honest conversations about their vulnerabilities and worries. 

“And so the support employers give advisers needs to be the same, to allow for them to feel that they can speak up and have open conversations about what they are struggling with themselves.”

alina.khan@ft.com