Opinion  

Letter: Blurred lines over model business terms

Brian Spence

Brian Spence

The FCA is nudging advisers to specialise in serving clients, leaving investment management to the DFMs. But new partnerships are blurring the edges. And very few have a clear understanding of where responsibilities lie, particularly when it comes to suitability. This has the potential to be a huge headache.

For example, in the strictest sense, there is no such thing as outsourcing for advisers, just a variation of responsibilities. Every adviser needs to document this. Just accepting a DFM’s standard terms of business is no longer enough to prove due diligence.

But what if every advisory firm creates and insists on its own terms of business? This would be a nightmare for DFMs, across new and existing adviser relationships.

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Brian Spence

Managing Partner

Harrison Spence

London