Understanding your client

It is impossible to write an article this year with the Retail Distribution Review (RDR) looming on the horizon and not be tempted to mention it, so I will not even try! However, while the RDR is a driver for a seismic change in the way advisers and clients interact, there are some basic parameters that should always have been applied in identifying target clients, but which have been ignored by some firms. The need for careful planning to target ‘economic clients'* increases with the advent of fee-based advice. As we switch from commission to fees, even those advisers who have segmen...