Vince Smith-Hughes: FOS decisions - what can we learn?

Perfect hindsight

clock • 9 min read

Vince Smith-Hughes takes a deep dive into some retirement-related FOS decisions and urges advisers to learn from other people's mistakes, not their own (it is cheaper that way...)

A learned colleague often uses a phrase that his foresight is based on perfect hindsight. In effect, his first thought on what may or may not happen in the industry going forward is based upon what has gone before, and in particular what mistakes we have made. When it comes to avoiding complaints regarding advice my colleague's thinking seems like a sensible ploy - after all looking at what has gone before can help us ensure that our processes are as tight as they can be. In this regard, the latest Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) data for 2020/2021 throws up some interesting insight...

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