Just over six months on from the introduction of Consumer Duty, one in seven (16%) independent financial advisors (IFAs) say they do not feel clear on what good customer outcomes look like, according to global research and insights agency Opinium’s latest polling into the views of IFAs.
In addition, almost half (45%) of IFAs feel that the new rules have made it harder to give clients advice, with 72% saying they’ve seen an increase in admin and reporting duties, and 61% saying they now have less time to advise clients.
| IFAs report Consumer Duty has resulted in: | |
| Increased admin duties | 72% |
| Less time to advise clients | 61% |
| Difficulty advising clients | 45% |
However, increased admin time isn’t the only issue – despite aiming to improve clarity for consumers, a third (30%) of consumers who had heard of Consumer Duty believe they’ve been provided with financial advice that was less clear in the past 6 months, and 28% said they’d received an all-around less positive service from their financial service providers. Awareness of Consumer Duty itself outside of the industry also remains low, with the majority (71%) of all UK consumers claiming they’ve never heard of it.
Despite these hurdles, a notable two thirds (65%) of IFAs believe their businesses have successfully integrated the Consumer Duty principles, although 60% acknowledge facing difficulties in meeting the FCA’s reporting requirements.
Alexa Nightingale, Head of Financial Services research at Opinium commented: “Six months on from Consumer Duty being brought in, the IFA polling shows there is some work to be done in terms of how supported firms feel in implementing the new rules. As with any major change in regulation, it’s not surprising there are initial teething problems, and these currently seem to be extending to the consumer experience – which Consumer Duty was brought in to improve.
“It appears there is more that could be done by the regulator to help support firms. However, if IFAs and their businesses are able to share their learnings and knowledge externally, the lack of certainty also presents an opportunity for sharing that could benefit the whole industry.”
The research was carried out using Opinium’s IFA omnibus, the UK’s only dedicated research community of IFAs.
