Browse all articles across people aspects of regulation and people development within UK financial services
Recently I have run several training sessions for my adviser firms. I have a lot of fun preparing them in an anorak sort of way. They seem to have been received positively. I have recently run sessions on Sustainable Investments, Good advice practices, attitude to risk and conduct risk/SMCR and vulnerable clients.
Spring often marks a point in the exam cycle where candidates move from general revision into more focused preparation and at this stage, a common question begins to emerge: how should I actually be revising?
In today’s fast-paced financial sector, precision, compliance, and performance are vital. Yet behind every spreadsheet, report, and client interaction are individuals whose brains process information in wonderfully different ways.
Regulatory focus across financial services continues to evolve, with increasing attention being placed on behaviour, conduct, and the ability to evidence competence in real-world conditions. It is no longer sufficient for individuals to demonstrate knowledge in structured environments alone.
In many businesses, the probation period is seen as the finish line for onboarding. The employee has survived their first few months, they understand the basics of the role, and everyone simply gets on with the job. But the most progressive organisations know something different. Probation is not the end of development.
Introduction In the financial services sector, professional exams are more than a personal milestone. They help staff to develop the knowledge and skills needed to deliver high-quality advice, while also staying on top of regulatory requirements.
That’s quite a collection of letters after my name, and I hope reflects my enthusiasm for professional development and association. It may not even tell the full story – I could probably add a few more from my NLP qualification and my membership of the British Psychological Society.
The top 10 things to consider when hiring an operations manager – and why it’s the most important hire you’ll make right now Let me say this straight: if you’re running a professional firm and you don’t have a brilliant, capable, get-things-done Business or Operations Manager on your team, you’re flying blind.
What Financial Advisers Must Learn Now My first job, way back in 1983, was as a Counter Assistant in a building society. I enjoyed my entry-level job and took to night school to further my training. In the meantime, I was just a counter clerk whose primary role was to serve customers at the branch.
We’ve all been part of that sudden scramble. A client cancels their subscription – and suddenly, they’re offered discounts, check-in calls, personalised offers, and promises of better service. Or a long-standing employee resigns – and within 24 hours, they’re being offered flexible working, a new title, or a salary bump. It’s all well-intentioned.
We move fast because we’re told fast is better, because we think being busy proves we matter, because it feels safer to stay in motion than to stop and ask whether we’re going the right way. But there’s also power in the pause.
Euan was only eight and a Bredon Buzzards Junior Under-9s Rugby Team member. I was a dad and coach who religiously took my son to rugby every Sunday morning, rain or shine. And it often rained; it bucketed down, as we say in Gloucestershire. Accompanied by freezing, biting arctic winds.
