Our mantra of ‘Straightforward Advice’ and ‘Money is only as complicated as we make it’ fall at the second or third hurdle, what is still bizarrely called the point of sale’ in the modern world in which we’re properly deemed advisers rather than salespeople. That’s when we have to provide a raft of regulator-prescribed ‘disclosure documents’, including detailed illustrations, showing what you’re not likely to get if you’re foolish enough to invest any money; and key features documents which seem to do their utmost to make the simple incomprehensible. We of course comply with the rules, but provide our own bullet points and cost summary to reverse the process and make the incomprehensible once again simple. That’s our job, I guess; but surely it shouldn’t be too difficult to make it less difficult for buyers to know what they’re actually buying?
“Advice firms show limited appetite for four-day working week”
I would say that our profession is ideally suited to flexible working. Our business in particular, as we all work remotely with no head office to which to troll every day and the theoretical ability to do most of our job (apart from sitting on your sofa) from any beach with a good wifi signal.
