Investment business Copia Capital Management, part of Novia Financial, has rolled out a free online toolkit to help financial advisers navigate the requirements of the upcoming Consumer Duty.
The offering was developed with financial services consultancy the Lang Cat and includes written guides, videos, templates and webinars to help advisers comply with all of the legislation’s requirements by the 31 July deadline.
Copia said that additional material will be released in line with the implementation timetable.
Robert Vaudry, managing director of Copia, said: “Increasingly the conversations we are having with advisers are steering towards one topic – Consumer Duty. While many well-run firms will already be some way towards fulfilling the requirements of the legislation, the new rules add extra responsibilities, particularly when it comes to portfolio management activities.
“Our 2022 adviser research showed that centralised investment propositions (CIPs) are already creating an admin headache for firms, particularly when it comes to the ongoing management of model portfolios. So much so that the majority of firms are concerned their CIP will soon reach a tipping point where they become unworkable.
“We believe Consumer Duty creates further pressure on portfolio management and is likely to be another nail in the coffin for firms running portfolios in-house.
“Firms need to ask themselves whether they have the necessary resources in place to ‘avoid foreseeable harm’ by identifying the most suitable solutions to meet clients’ objectives while taking a consistent approach to risk on an ongoing basis. Is the operational side of the business running as effectively as possible or are you delivering inconsistent outcomes for clients because you haven’t obtained the relevant client authorisations to switch them into the current model?
“Over the coming months, we will be rolling out a range of support materials and guides, designed to not only aid compliance with the new rules, but also help successfully navigate the additional pressures on portfolio management.”
