The best approach for working with vulnerable clients
Working with clients who may be vulnerable, or show signs of vulnerability, is not uncommon – especially when offering services to those of an advanced age or with complex personal circumstances.
There are important signs to look out for with vulnerability and ways to best approach the issue to ensure best outcomes for clients.
There are important financial regulatory considerations to be made around vulnerable clients, too. City watchdog the Financial Conduct Authority has a specific definition of what constitutes a vulnerable customer:
“A vulnerable customer is someone who, due to their personal circumstances, is especially susceptible to harm – particularly when a firm is not acting with appropriate levels of care.”
The FCA refers to vulnerability among clients as creating a “spectrum of risk” which professional services providers need to be keenly aware of and able to deal with.
Complexity of vulnerability
Vulnerability is a complex problem. When a client should be classed as ‘vulnerable’ isn’t easy to define. The FCA says around 25 million people in the UK exhibit at least one or more signs of vulnerability.
The regulator’s 2022 Financial Lives research defines vulnerability as including low financial resilience, poor health, negative life events and low capability as all pertaining to increased vulnerability.
Health issues are also a clear indicator, but diagnoses such as cancer or dementia have varying effects on an individual’s wellbeing. The prognosis of these illnesses can also lead to some important financial decisions that need to be made.
Such illnesses often initiate a process such as a lasting power of attorney (LPA), a will update, or other legal work change that will have important financial considerations and implications.
Losing a partner is another trigger for vulnerability and the need for clients to seek out professional legal services, particularly if they’re dealing with the estate or other implications from the loss of a loved one.
In these circumstances it is essential to use the expertise of a financial adviser to better discern choices and planning for the vulnerable client in question.
This is important both for the regulatory implications of how you treat that client, but also to ensure the overall health, wellbeing, goals and outcomes for the client are met in the best way possible.
How to look after a vulnerable client
This is a very tricky issue as looking after the needs of a vulnerable client can require patience, empathy and diligence on the part of the service provider.
Within your business, it’s critical you ensure team members who deal with clients and the general public more widely are trained and well-versed in spotting the signs of vulnerability. The FCA has clear guidance on this.
The first step is to ensure your team understands the issue of vulnerability, its scope and how it affects people in their day-to-day lives.
Second, staff should be skilled and trained to offer practical and emotional support to customers who could be vulnerable. Especially important is giving frontline staff the tools and training they need to manage such a client.
Third, practical steps to ensure the wellbeing of the client is protected is key. Products, customer service and communication all need to be empathetic and easy for clients to understand.
When a vulnerable client, their relative, guardian or other trusted third party approaches your business to take care of a specific matter, understanding what their wider needs may be and if broader financial advice should be considered is really important.
Instead of providing singular services this will help them to meet their broader needs and ensure the best outcomes possible in the circumstances.
Law firm reprimanded for misleading financial promotions – how to get yours right
A Dorset-based law firm has been castigated by the Advertising Standard Agency for misleading adverts with the communications banned by the regulator.
The firm, TMS Legal, promoted two adverts which claimed clients had successfully claimed thousands in compensation relating to car financing.
However, the regulator found the advert testimonials were provided by paid actors and were not genuine case studies of successful legal claims.
The firm specialises in mis-selling claims related to packaged bank accounts, according to the report in The Law Society Gazette. The firm removed the offending adverts and apologised, citing internal oversight for the failure.
The company had already been fined £45,000 by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) for client due diligence failures and making inaccurate claims.
How to get financial promotions right
While mis-selling cases might not be your day-to-day bread and butter, it is essential to get any kind of financial promotions right.
Financial services is (rightly) extremely carefully regulated. The rules around promotions are highly specific and compliance is a central function within financial firms in order to ensure they are not falling foul of the rules.
The scrutiny of financial promotions has also heightened considerably for social media in recent years, particularly in relation to so-called ‘finfluencers’ or financial influencers – a growing area of financial promotions in advertising.
Working with finfluencers can be an effective strategy for a firm looking to promote its services, but again it needs to be fully compliant and carefully managed to ensure potential customers are not misled.
Social media guidance is in the process of being revamped by the financial regulator too, underlining the fact that the framework for promotions is ever-changing, making keeping up with the latest developments even more essential.
The adverts in question were placed on TikTok by the firm – a growing social media platform that is coming under increasing scrutiny from regulators as the quality and content of advertising explodes.
Compliance puzzle
Promotions should be transparent and ensure truthful representations of case studies and results no matter the platform. While financial promotions are often useful ways to generate new business leads, they should not be taken lightly in their creation.
Legal firms looking to promote their services in the financial space would be best served by working with a professional financial partner in order to ensure full compliance and a successful campaign is possible.
Compliance is a tricky thing to get right, even for firms well-versed in the law. However, financial firms such as advice businesses are adept at following the carefully laid regulatory frameworks in place to protect both businesses and consumers.
Partnering with a financial advice firm to promote your financial-related services is a great way to ensure that promotions are fully compliant from the get-go.
Advice businesses take compliance as second nature and are extremely well-positioned to ensure campaigns are thoroughly vetted and maximise the potential to attract new business in the most compliant manner possible.
Partnering with an advice firm will open up a range of potential service possibilities too and increase the likelihood that a client will adopt more services for their legal and financial needs.
The World In A Week - Summer Prints
Written by Millan Chauhan.
Last week, we saw the release of US inflation data where the US Consumer Price Index reached 3.2% on a year-over-year basis as of July 2023 which was below expectations of 3.3%. Inflation has fallen significantly from its highs of 9.1% in June 2022. Food was one of the largest contributors to July’s monthly inflation print of 0.2%. Food at Home costs rose 3.6% and Food Away from Home costs rose 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Attention now turns towards the UK and Continental Europe where we await July’s inflation data readings on Wednesday and Friday respectively. In the UK, analysts expect to see inflation fall to 6.8% and in the Euro Area to 5.3%, both on a year-over-year basis for July 2023.
Over the last 15 months, we have seen central banks implement several interest rate hikes, which has caused commercial banks to raise the interest rate received on deposits by savers. Some banks have been slower to increase the interest rate received than others. Last week, the Italian Government stepped in to penalise banks for failing to pass enough of the interest hikes from the European Central Bank (ECB) to depositors, it initially stated that it would tax 40% of net interest margins in 2022 or 2023 which initially saw numerous Italian banks sell off sharply. The announcement was a shock to investors and was widely criticised. Subsequently the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni backtracked the decision and clarified that any levy applied would be capped to 0.1% of assets.
The UK’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew 0.5% in June 2023 which was above expectations of 0.2%. The extra bank holiday has been cited as a key driver; however, we have also seen production output grow 1.8% in June 2023 which outpaced the Services & Construction sectors. June’s strong economic growth data saw the UK’s Q2 GDP grow by 0.2%.
Any opinions stated are honestly held but are not guaranteed and should not be relied upon.
The information contained in this document is not to be regarded as an offer to buy or sell, or the solicitation of any offer to buy or sell, any investments or products.
The content of this document is for information only. It is advisable that you discuss your personal financial circumstances with a financial adviser before undertaking any investments.
All the data contained in the communication is believed to be reliable but may be inaccurate or incomplete. Unless otherwise specified all information is produced as of 14th August 2023.
© 2023 YOU Asset Management. All rights reserved.
The World In A Week - Calm before the storm
Written by Chris Ayton.
Global equity markets trod water last week, with the MSCI All Country World Index ending the week down -0.2% in Sterling terms. MSCI Europe ex-UK fell -1.1%, with the FTSE All Share Index and the S&P 500 Index both dropping -0.4% but MSCI Emerging Markets was up +1.1% boosted by positive returns in China and Brazil. After years of neglect and disinterest, corporate governance improvements are leading international investors to revisit their allocations to Japanese equities and this helped MSCI Japan rise +1.5% for the week. However, the Japanese Yen remained weak ahead of the Bank of Japan meeting this week where, unlike all other major economies, it is expected to maintain its ultra-loose monetary policy. The Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank (ECB) also meet this week.
Last week the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) released its latest GDP growth forecasts for 2023 and 2024, predicting the global economy would expand by 2.7% in 2023 and 2.9% in 2024. Underlying that, it went on to predict the US will avoid recession, India will grow strongly (6% this year, 7% next year), and China will achieve its target of 5% GDP growth this year and next. However, it estimated the UK will only achieve 0.3% growth this year and 1% next year, although this is better than previous estimates. While this backdrop is certainly interesting, it is important to remember that economic growth does not equate to stock market returns.
In Europe, the EU’s statistics agency revised down the EU’s GDP growth to -0.1% for both the final quarter of 2022 and first quarter of 2023, meaning the Eurozone is technically already in a recession. This surprising news came on the back of Germany also announcing that it had fallen into recession. This data has brought into question the European Commission’s 1.1% growth forecast for 2023 and it will be interesting to see if the ECB starts to face any pressure to ease up on further interest rate rises at their upcoming meeting.
Data released by Halifax last week showed UK house prices registering their first annual decline since 2012, with average house prices in May sitting 1% below where they were this time last year. The Nationwide Building Society had earlier indicated an even greater annual decline. With Uswitch reporting the average 5-year fixed rate mortgage rate in the UK has now hit 5.59% and further interest rate rises expected going forward, this is clearly starting to impact price expectations for buyers and sellers.
Any opinions stated are honestly held but are not guaranteed and should not be relied upon.
The information contained in this document is not to be regarded as an offer to buy or sell, or the solicitation of any offer to buy or sell, any investments or products.
The content of this document is for information only. It is advisable that you discuss your personal financial circumstances with a financial adviser before undertaking any investments.
All the data contained in the communication is believed to be reliable but may be inaccurate or incomplete. Unless otherwise specified all information is produced as of 12th June 2023.
© 2023 YOU Asset Management. All rights reserved.
The World In A Week - The narrowing leadership in US stocks
Written by Ilaria Massei.
Last Friday, we saw US stocks hit a nine-month high thanks to encouraging talks on debt ceiling and tech sector gains. The NASDAQ 100 rose 4.5% last week in GBP terms, boosted by the rally experienced by AI related stocks. There have only been a handful of stocks in the mega-cap market range that have led this rally in tech stocks. These include the likes of Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft and NVIDIA. Last Thursday, shares of the chipmaker NVIDIA jumped 24%, making the company the sixth most highly valued public company in the world. Shares rose after the company beat consensus first-quarter earnings expectations by a wide margin and raised its profit outlook.
This extraordinary performance resurfaced the topic of narrow leadership in the US stock market, whereby fewer and fewer US tech stocks contribute to the broad index level return. Another crucial topic last week was the debt ceiling talks where policymakers delivered some encouraging news, signalling that they were working on a deal to raise the debt ceiling before the June deadline to avoid an unprecedented default. Meanwhile, the core (less food and energy) personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, rose by 0.4% in April, a tick above expectations.
Elsewhere, data released last Thursday signalled that the German economy fell into a recession in the first quarter, due to persistent high price increases and a surge in borrowing costs. GDP shrank 0.3% in the three months through March, a downward revision from an early estimate of zero growth. However, European Central Bank (ECB) policymakers’ view is that interest rates would need to rise further and stay high to curb inflation in the medium term, potentially deteriorating the economy further.
The MSCI Japan declined to -1.1% last week in GBP terms but encouraging data released last week saw Japanese manufacturing activity expanding for the first time in seven months in May. The services sector also reported robust growth, as the reopening of the country to tourism led to a record rise in business activity.
Any opinions stated are honestly held but are not guaranteed and should not be relied upon.
The information contained in this document is not to be regarded as an offer to buy or sell, or the solicitation of any offer to buy or sell, any investments or products.
The content of this document is for information only. It is advisable that you discuss your personal financial circumstances with a financial adviser before undertaking any investments.
All the data contained in the communication is believed to be reliable but may be inaccurate or incomplete. Unless otherwise specified all information is produced as of 30th May 2023.
© 2023 YOU Asset Management. All rights reserved.
The World In A Week - Buffett bets big in Japan
Written by Cormac Nevin.
Markets rallied last week as data releases such as strong housing statistics in the US allayed fears of an economic hard landing driven by the interest rate increases we have witnessed over the last year. The MSCI All Country World Index of global equities (MSCI ACWI) rallied +1.5% in GBP terms.
A market which the team has noticed getting an increasing degree of exposure from global investors recently has been the Japanese Equity market. In local terms, Japanese Equities are up +8.5% over the course of the second quarter to date, which has strongly outperformed MSCI ACWI over the same period (+1.9%). The GBP return has been reduced by a weakening in the Yen vs Sterling, therefore returning +3.6%, but it remains strongly ahead of other markets. We have been overweight to the Japanese Equity market since 2020 and find it interesting that many of the characteristics of the market which we find appealing are now being given more attention from other investors and the media. These include attractive valuations compared to, for example, the US Equity market, corporate governance reforms being driven by the Tokyo Stock Exchange and other forces including low inflation, accelerating GDP and wage data. While the Yen has proved a headwind for GBP-based investors for the year to date, we think it provides excellent diversification benefits and room for the Japanese currency to rally should the global economy deteriorate as many predict which would lead to a potential narrowing in US/Japanese interest rate differential.
Another interesting element has been the increased investment in the Japanese market from Warren Buffett. While we think investors should never slavishly follow any one investment luminary, we do think it is interesting that the Sage of Omaha now owns more stocks in Japan than in any other country besides the US via his Berkshire Hathaway holding company. Given Mr Buffett’s exceedingly long track record in finding high quality companies trading at discounted valuations, we believe that the Japanese Equity market could potentially be an excellent return driver into the future while other developed markets are more challenged from high valuations or macroeconomic turbulence.
Any opinions stated are honestly held but are not guaranteed and should not be relied upon.
The information contained in this document is not to be regarded as an offer to buy or sell, or the solicitation of any offer to buy or sell, any investments or products.
The content of this document is for information only. It is advisable that you discuss your personal financial circumstances with a financial adviser before undertaking any investments.
All the data contained in the communication is believed to be reliable but may be inaccurate or incomplete. Unless otherwise specified all information is produced as of 22nd May 2023
© 2023 YOU Asset Management. All rights reserved.
The World In A Week - Record breakers
Written by Chris Ayton.
As expected, the Bank of England (BoE) hiked interest rates by 0.25% to 4.5% last week, in the process warning that inflation will not fall as fast as expected over the next 12 months. This was a record twelfth rate rise in a row. The BoE also noted that it appreciated that only around a third of the impact from the previous rises had been felt by the UK economy, with 1.4 million people due to come off fixed rate mortgages this year, nearly 60% of which were fixed at interest rates below 2%. While this may bring hope to some that this was signalling a pause in further increases, the BoE warned that it continued to monitor indicators of persistent inflationary pressures and commented “If there were to be evidence of more persistent pressures, then further tightening in monetary policy would be required.”
More positively, the Bank significantly upgraded its forecast for UK GDP Growth, expecting 0.25% growth this year followed by 0.75% in 2024 and 2025. This was the largest upwards revision to growth expectations on record and contrasts sharply with predictions late last year that the UK was heading for the longest recession in 50 years. This was followed by confirmation from the Office of National Statistics on Friday that the UK economy had grown 0.1% in the first quarter, the same as observed in the previous quarter.
News in the US was dominated by internal fighting over the extension of the debt ceiling. Having reached the maximum it is legally allowed to borrow, the U.S. government require an extension to that limit in very short order to be able to pay its upcoming debt obligations, to avoid a destabilising default, and prevent the financial chaos that would undoubtedly ensue. Previously, these challenges have been resolved at the twenty third hour but, in the meantime, this is likely to impact market sentiment.
Less well reported was the positive news that the top U.S. national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, met with China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, in Vienna in an attempt to calm relations between the two superpowers. Talks were said to be ’substantive and constructive’. The souring of relations, exacerbated by the Chinese spy balloon drama in February, has undoubtedly been a drag on China’s equity market performance in 2023.
Any opinions stated are honestly held but are not guaranteed and should not be relied upon.
The information contained in this document is not to be regarded as an offer to buy or sell, or the solicitation of any offer to buy or sell, any investments or products.
The content of this document is for information only. It is advisable that you discuss your personal financial circumstances with a financial adviser before undertaking any investments.
All the data contained in the communication is believed to be reliable but may be inaccurate or incomplete. Unless otherwise specified all information is produced as of 15th May 2023.
© 2023 YOU Asset Management. All rights reserved.
The World In A Week - A hike in May and go away
Written by Shane Balkham.
The world of investing has a plethora of adages by which to invest. All of which are based on shaky assumptions, but can also resonate with investors as they seem to have a semblance of truth to them. At this time of year, the adage: “Sell in May and go away” is rolled out, but few will realise that this originated in the 17th century and was about the wealthy migrating out from London in the summer months to their country estates. While out of London and without the use of a smartphone, they were unable to monitor their shares, so selling made perfect sense. Using adages in our experience is not a robust long-term investment strategy.
This year the adage could be used for the intentions of the central banks and the interest rate hiking cycle. Last week saw the Federal Reserve hike rates by 0.25% and signal the end of a continuous series of interest rate rises. The long awaited ‘pause’ has seemingly begun and attention will focus on data to see if inflation continues to fall.
The European Central Bank (ECB) also raised rates by 0.25% last week, but unlike the US, there was no signal suggesting a pause. Having started the process of hiking interest rates much later than the US and the UK, there is an argument that the ECB have much more ground to make up.
However, there is an expectation for the Bank of England to follow the Federal Reserve’s lead this week. A final hike of 0.25% is expected together with a clear signal of a pause in the hiking cycle, despite inflation having so far proved quite sticky. The meeting on Thursday also coincides with the quarterly publication of its Monetary Policy Report, which will provide further detail on the Bank’s forecasts and expectations.
This could be seen as welcome news to the markets, who have been anticipating a pause in the hiking cycle since the beginning of the year. Naturally, the medium-term view will now be dominated by expectations of when the first rate cut will arrive. However, underneath the big picture of central bank decisions, there continues to be ongoing stress in the US banking sector, and fears of economic recessions. Given the uncertainty of the short-term outlook, the need for appropriate portfolio diversification remains crucial.
Any opinions stated are honestly held but are not guaranteed and should not be relied upon.
The information contained in this document is not to be regarded as an offer to buy or sell, or the solicitation of any offer to buy or sell, any investments or products.
The content of this document is for information only. It is advisable that you discuss your personal financial circumstances with a financial adviser before undertaking any investments.
All the data contained in the communication is believed to be reliable but may be inaccurate or incomplete. Unless otherwise specified all information is produced as of 9th May 2023.
© 2023 YOU Asset Management. All rights reserved.
The World In A Week - Banking on a bailout
Written by Millan Chauhan.
Last week, we saw the third US bank seized by regulators since March with First Republic Bank being the latest casualty of higher interest rates and tighter monetary conditions. This marks the largest US banking casualty since 2008 and was driven by losses in their loan book combined with a run on their deposits. US interest rates currently sit between a target range of 4.75% and 5% and banks that have not been offering competitive enough deposit rates, in order to facilitate cheap loans, have been suffering outflows as savers transfer to money market funds paying higher rates. JP Morgan have since acquired First Republic’s deposits and a large proportion of its assets in a deal which was coordinated by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Jamie Dimon, JP Morgan CEO announced that they will not retain the First Republic brand but instead a large majority of the deposit base will move directly into their retail banking arm called Chase.
The fate of First Republic was outlined last week as they announced that $100 billion of deposits had been withdrawn in the first quarter of 2023, despite their deposit demographic being somewhat more diversified than the likes of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank where deposits were largely derived from a more technology-focused client base. Under normal circumstances, JP Morgan wouldn’t be able to acquire a bank the size of First Republic for competition reasons, however these limits were waived in a bid to reduce further market stress and minimise losses. Some policymakers have criticised this acquisition made by JP Morgan since it has made the largest US bank even bigger and reduced competition further.
Elsewhere, companies continue to report their first quarter earnings and we saw the big US technology companies report last week whereby Artificial Intelligence (AI) was the big topic of conversation. Most of the technology names have implemented cost-cutting policies with thousands of layoffs being made, however they are investing billions as they aim to become market leaders in AI which they believe to enhance their long-term profitability. Meta, Amazon, Google and Microsoft stated the word “AI” a combined 168 times on their earnings call last week.
UK Government borrowing figures in the 2022-23 financial year, published on Tuesday by the Office for National Statistics, came in at £13.2bn less than forecast by the Office of Budget Responsibility, although, overall public borrowing rose compared to 2021-2022. This was mainly due to lower-than-expected public spending, despite the cost-of-living subsidies that have been provided over the year by the government. The lower-than-expected borrowing has given the Chancellor some breathing room and could give way to tax cuts later in the year in his Autumn Statement.
Any opinions stated are honestly held but are not guaranteed and should not be relied upon.
The information contained in this document is not to be regarded as an offer to buy or sell, or the solicitation of any offer to buy or sell, any investments or products.
The content of this document is for information only. It is advisable that you discuss your personal financial circumstances with a financial adviser before undertaking any investments.
All the data contained in the communication is believed to be reliable but may be inaccurate or incomplete. Unless otherwise specified all information is produced as of 2nd May 2023.
© 2023 YOU Asset Management. All rights reserved.
The World In A Week - Have we reached the summit?
Written by Shane Balkham.
UK inflation fell to below 5% in October, on the back of a sharp decline in energy costs. The monthly publication from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) showed a 2.1% drop in UK Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) from 6.7% for September to 4.6% for October.
A significant contributor to this fall was the fall in energy prices; over the year to the end of October, gas prices fell by 31% and electricity prices fell by 15.6%. Food prices were little changed for October.
This is a positive step bringing inflation back down to the Bank of England’s (BoE) target level of 2%. There are another three weeks until the Monetary Policy Committee of the BoE meets to discuss the path of UK interest rates, and it remains a delicate balancing act.
The US also had a pleasant surprise for inflation, with a fall greater than expected. US CPI for October fell from 3.7% to 3.2%, which was marginally below consensus expectations. The reaction of the US market was one of relief, with US Treasury yields falling and the stock market rallying.
Some commentators believed that this was an overreaction by investors and while inflation is certainly heading in the right direction, there will be challenges ahead. The US Federal Reserve meets a day earlier than the BoE, with the next decision on interest rate policy coming on 13th December.
It makes sense that the reaction from markets on October’s inflation readings was one of relief. However, central banks are known for not necessarily doing the right thing at the right time, and although there is optimism that we have reached the peak in the interest rate hiking cycle, we are still treading carefully in our investment decisions.
From policymakers to politics, where the US House of Representatives voted to avert a costly government shutdown last week. In a similar move to that of six weeks ago, the can has been kicked down the road until early in the new year. The proposal provides a two-step plan that sets up two new shutdown deadlines next year. US government funding has been divided into two different parts, with priority given to military construction, transportation, housing, and the Energy Department, which has a new deadline of 19th January 2024. Anything not covered in this first step would be funded until 2nd February 2024. Politics will certainly start the New Year in the spotlight and will likely remain there.
Any opinions stated are honestly held but are not guaranteed and should not be relied upon.
The information contained in this document is not to be regarded as an offer to buy or sell, or the solicitation of any offer to buy or sell, any investments or products.
The content of this document is for information only. It is advisable that you discuss your personal financial circumstances with a financial adviser before undertaking any investments.
All the data contained in the communication is believed to be reliable but may be inaccurate or incomplete. Unless otherwise specified all information is produced as of 20th November 2023.
© 2023 YOU Asset Management. All rights reserved.