Viewing Consumer Duty through the vulnerability lens

Clients can be vulnerable in many ways

clock • 4 min read

Vulnerability is now the primary lens through which the FCA is considering how firms implement Consumer Duty, writes Mark Sanderson

How many of your clients would you say are in circumstances which make them vulnerable when making financial decisions? As Nick Hulme, head of the Financial Conduct Authority's (FCA) department for advisers, wealth and pension, shared at this year's Morningstar Investment Conference, when they asked firms around 18 months ago, they were startled to get an answer of ‘about 1%' for retail investment clients. In previous research, the FCA found that 49% of portfolio managers and 69% of stockbrokers identified no vulnerable clients at all. Not one. Clients can be vulnerable in many way...

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