Following a successful trial, Comentis, the duty of care assessment company will support The ASHL Group in their commitment to meeting Consumer Duty requirements across it’s network and national advice business
Adviser Services Holdings Limited (ASHL), has recently announced that it will deploy Comentis’ clinically developed Financial Vulnerability Assessment tool across its advice networks Lyncombe and Sense, as well as their national advice business. The implementation follows a successful trial over the last four months, which has seen a significant increase not only in the identification of clients in vulnerable circumstances, but also those with confirmed vulnerabilities who have since been supported.
Fully aligned to the FCA’s four drivers of vulnerability and in line with the Consumer Duty regulation, the Comentis tool is a one-of-a-kind assessment that enables advisers to consistently identify vulnerable client activity. Combining cutting-edge technology with the clinical expertise of renowned mental health and psychology specialists, the tool is an accessible and cost-effective digital assessment, which is seamlessly integrated into existing technology and processes.
The tool will also provide Sense and Lyncombe network members with a clear and consistent audit trail, whilst driving objectivity and consistency across the vulnerability assessment process. This will ensure advisers can adopt best practice when it comes to identifying and supporting their vulnerable clients, so that no one goes unidentified.
Ian Mackenzie, Group Compliance Operations Director at The ASHL Group of Companies said:
“Whilst we are conscious that identifying vulnerability is not always straightforward and has the capacity to be a sensitive conversation with the client, we need to ensure we have the right tools in place to be able to identify vulnerability, and more critically, be able to put in place the right support to help those clients. Following a very successful trial with the team at Comentis, we will further roll the assessment out to the Group. Their combination of cutting-edge technology, developed with clinical knowledge, is vital to ensuring all at-risk customers are identified and supported correctly. In today’s world data is key, and as such, having this level of visibility over vulnerability data is invaluable.”
Jonathan Barrett, CEO at Comentis, said:
“Vulnerability is high on the regulatory agenda right now, and rightly so. Six months into Consumer Duty, it’s more important than ever for advisers to be equipped to identify any, and indeed, all signs of vulnerability. Our market-leading software will ensure that ASHL advisers are able to better identify their financially vulnerable clients. This will be a significant step forward in delivering the good outcomes that their clients deserve.”
