Beyond the proposition: Does due diligence go far enough?

Advisers must increasingly undertake robust due diligence to demonstrate good client outcomes. They need to show not only that they selected a suitable proposition for their clients, but also that the entity behind that proposition is a reliable long-term financial partner. When a financial services business experiences financial distress, regulatory intervention or a significant deterioration in service standards, advisers are often left explaining to clients what happened and why. Yet in many cases, warning signs emerged long before the eventual outcome. The challenge is not explain...