Keith Richards launches professional body for financial services

At an event in the Shard in London today (March 9), the chief executive of the Financial Vulnerability Taskforce and former chief executive of the Personal Finance Society, unveiled the new body: the Consumer Duty Alliance. 

Dismissing speculation that some Treasury officials are uncertain how the Financial Conduct Authority's consumer duty regulations will work, as reported by FTAdviser's sister title the Financial Times, Richards said the "time was right" to create this new, independent association.

Richards told FTAdviser: "There is truly a need for an independent professional body for the finance sector, to serve members' needs, engage with policymakers, promote best practice and share thought-leadership, and create a community that can focus on delivering for clients and supporting financial planning."

Engaging, informing and working collaboratively with all parties is going to be essential to delivering and building on the promise of consumer duty.Johnny Timpson, FSCP

He was keen to stress this was not a response to the ongoing disagreement between the Chartered Insurance Institute and the Personal Finance Society, who are at loggerheads over the CII's allegations of governance failings, which the PFS nominee board members strenuously deny.  

Richards stated: "The Alliance has no commercial aspiration, it is not-for-profit and it has a non-conflicting role to play in bringing all the various bodies together. 

"We are not here to compete with the PFS. The Alliance would always have been a natural evolution of the FVT."

Avengers assemble

The CDA has also brought together big names in the financial planning world, including Nick Cann, former chief executive of the Institute of Financial Planning, who will be heading up one of three forums that sit beneath the CDA umbrella.

Speaking to FTAdviser, Cann said the consumer duty planning forum was an "exciting opportunity" not just for him but the wider financial planning community.

"After surviving a stroke 10 years ago, and living with aphasia, it is good to be back.

"The financial planning forum will create relevant content around good practice, and signpost other support guidance and useful links to support the further evolution of financial planning.

"There is a real need for the Consumer Duty Alliance."

The second forum will focus on technology and how fintech developments can help advisers develop their propositions alongside consumer duty and best practice. 

There is a real need for the Consumer Duty Alliance.Nick Cann

This forum will be run by Ian McKenna, founder of F&TRC. He told FTAdviser: "I am personally keen to see how the profession can use technology to help take advice to more people. I am committed to this and believe technology can transform how people live their lives, including financially.

"From my perspective, there are so many different and emerging technologies that I am interested to understand how advisers and brokers address the challenges of big tech and the likes of Amazon breaking into financial services. 

"This forum will explore how we can help advisers put technological changes into practice."

The third forum, which does not have a chairperson appointed yet, will be called the Consumer Duty Champions' forum, and has been developed by Johnny Timpson OBE. 

Timpson, who is currently on the Financial Services Consumer Panel, told FTAdviser: "I am delighted to see this independent forum established.

"I believe such a forum engaging, informing and working collaboratively with all parties is going to be essential to delivering and building on the promise of consumer duty in improving consumer understanding, value, service, support, outcomes and trust.”

The Alliance is also recruiting for a formal chair of the overall CDA board.

How it will work

The CDA will start life with 4,000 members - the same membership as the existing Financial Vulnerability Taskforce. Any individual working in financial services can become a member for free.

Companies can become affiliates, such as Money Alive, which is one of the founding affiliate members.

They can sign up to a new code of professional standards charter, receiving badges to use on client communications, and download a copy of a new consumer guide to pass onto clients.

The board and the chairs of the forums are all working pro-bono. Richards will remain at the helm of the FVT, and the existing FVT board will continue under the board of the CDA. 

Richards said: "The articles of association have been written to avoid any potential for problems."

The website (see screenshot), will allow the sharing of best practice based on the principles of continuous professional development, along with "guidance and support in translating various regulatory requirements into something that is practical and tangible", Richards said.

It will also provide a repository of information on all the relevant industry bodies, including the following:

• CII
• Chartered Institute for Securities & Investments
• London Institute of Banking and Finance
• Personal Finance Society
• Pimfa
• Society of Later Life Advisers
• Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners

It will also feature a directory to help advisers and clients on the financial planning journey. 

Richards added: "We are not competing with any existing body, nor are we going to try to be the financial services' one-stop-shop. There are plenty of organisations that are well-established and need better signposting to, and that is what we will do. 

"We will engage with these bodies and leverage expertise from across the industry to support and grow the profession as it moves forward into a new regulatory environment."

For more on the CDA's code of conduct and industry reaction to the new body, stay 'tuned' on FTAdviser.com

simoney.kyriakou@ft.com