200 articles

    Industry Focus

    Browse all articles across people aspects of regulation and people development within UK financial services

    What will the ‘new directory’ mean to your firm?
    Industry Focus

    What will the ‘new directory’ mean to your firm?

    In July the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) proposed creating a new Directory to help consumers and firms check the status and history of individuals working in financial services. Many see this as an improvement on the original proposal that post-SMCR only senior managers would be included.

    Vince Harvey · 15 Oct 20184 min read
    Quantitative easing (QE) – time to go cold turkey
    Industry Focus

    Quantitative easing (QE) – time to go cold turkey

    The German Weimar Republic did it in the 1920’s, Zimbabwe did it in the 2000’s and countless other countries since. Both of these though caused hyperinflation in the 000%. They called it printing money we call it Quantitative Easing.

    Paul Archer · 15 Oct 20184 min read
    The relationship between cyber security and GDPR
    Industry Focus

    The relationship between cyber security and GDPR

    GDPR (General Data Protection Regulations) and cyber security are interwoven. But do your updated data privacy policies and procedures reflect this? The GDPR deadline may have passed yet the cyber risk remains. Data protection starts with building cyber resilience in your people. Thank goodness GDPR is done with. Right?

    Unicorn Training · 6 Jul 20186 min read
    GDPR – the first 30 days
    Industry Focus

    GDPR – the first 30 days

    So, the most spoken about piece of legislation in many years has finally arrived. GDPR (General Data Protection Regulations) is here and we all have to readjust to a world where the need to handle data more carefully is more important than ever.

    Vivek Dodd · 6 Jul 20185 min read
    Apprenticeships – the tipping point?
    Industry Focus

    Apprenticeships – the tipping point?

    Ask a dozen economists about the state of the global economy and you are likely to get 12 different answers. The same seems to be true of the Government’s campaign and incentive to create thousands of ‘new’ Apprenticeships nationwide.

    Fiona Macaskill · 6 Jul 20184 min read
    Ask the experts: Auditor and accountant responsibilities
    Industry Focus

    Ask the experts: Auditor and accountant responsibilities

    Melanie Hind, the Financial Reporting Council’s executive director for audit and actuarial regulation, discusses the differences in responsibility that a business’s auditor and accountant hold by Bethan Rees Republished with permission from the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment (CISI).

    CISI · 6 Jul 20186 min read
    Pensions – a windfall for the wealthy?
    Industry Focus

    Pensions – a windfall for the wealthy?

    I’ve talked in recent articles about the impact of higher transfer values on people living in Port Talbot and Redcar, and in the British Steel Pension Scheme. Around March last year, those transfer values in some cases doubled. Why? There were two reasons.

    Henry Tapper · 6 Jul 20187 min read
    The diversity factor
    Industry Focus

    The diversity factor

    A hundred years ago British women battled for and won the electoral vote through the Representation of the People Act of 1918. The Act granted the vote to men over the age of 21 and women over the age of 30 who met property criteria.

    Sarah Thwaites · 11 Apr 20187 min read
    Financial wellbeing
    Industry Focus

    Financial wellbeing

    Do your staff, or clients’ staff ever worry about money? If so, you’re in good company: Financial stress costs the UK economy £120.7 billion, and 17.5 million hours were lost because of absence from financial stress (Neyber 2016).

    Kim Stephenson · 2 Apr 20189 min read
    Private equity regulatory developments since 2017
    Industry Focus

    Private equity regulatory developments since 2017

    Ashley Long FCSI, partner and CFO at GMT Communications, outlines some key developments in private equity Republished with permission from the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment (CISI). We entered 2017 with the twin unknowns of a Trump presidency and Brexit and they continue to cast shadows of uncertainty and risk.

    CISI · 2 Apr 20189 min read
    How do you take your risk? – EIS?
    Industry Focus

    How do you take your risk? – EIS?

    I have recently been involved with some Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) funds, which is a departure from my usual duties with IFA firms. That is one of the joys of working freelance.

    Tony.Catt · 2 Apr 20187 min read
    IFAs and the defined benefit promise
    Industry Focus

    IFAs and the defined benefit promise

    This article explores the relationship between IFAs and defined benefit schemes, one that has historically been uneasy. It argues that the polarisation of opinion between IFAs who see pensions as “pots” of wealth, and those who regard them as a “wage for life” has never been stronger.

    Henry Tapper · 2 Apr 20186 min read