FTAdviser Podcast

The gap between those who need advice and those who can access it - the so-called 'advice gap' - is one of the long-standing conundrums the financial advice profession has faced.For some advice firms, the solution is to encourage more people into the profession to level out the supply and demand imbalance which has led to a surge in the number of advice academies being launched.So what role do these academies - many of which are associated with large, vertically integrated advice firms - have in the future of the advice profession? And what can individual advisers do to help expand the profession?This week FTAdviser senior reporter Sonia Rach is joined by Sarah Lord, president of the Personal Finance Society, and Matt Jordan, academy development manager at Openwork, to find out more about what the industry is already doing and what it could do more of.They discuss the growth of academies in the industry, whether it will help close the advice gap, what the next generation of clients will need and the importance of teaching soft-skills.The FTAdviser Podcast is the weekly podcast for financial advisers, brought to you by FTAdviser. Each week, FTAdviser is joined by guests from the industry to discuss the week in news and pressing industry issues. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Speaking on this latest FTAdviser In Focus podcast on the topic of how protection fits into family financial planning, panellists discuss why it is not just important to curate wealth, but also to protect the people bringing that wealth into the household.Tony Mudd, divisional director for tax and technical support at St James's Place; Kathryn Knowles, managing director at Cura Financial Services; and Alun Beynon, head of distribution for intermediary protection at Scottish Widows, tell Simoney Kyriakou, senior editor of FTAdviser, why it is vital to have those conversations about protection when it comes to family wealth planning. And for advisers who are not confident about selling protection, or writing life insurance into trust to help with later life planning, it is important to refer this to advisers who specialise in protection. "Write it, refer it - but do not ignore it" is the overriding message from this podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last month the Financial Conduct Authority warned that social media platforms were playing an increasing role in putting consumers at risk of harm through adverts for financial products and the rise of financial influencers - or "finfluencers".Advisers aren't immune either, with the regulator expressing concerns that the use of certain social media platforms by advisers wasn't always helping consumers.This week FTAdviser digital editor Damian Fantato is joined by Hugh Johnson, head of proposition delivery at Sanlam, and Alasdair Walker, managing director at HA&W, to discuss what advisers should do about this and whether social media is a good or bad thing for advisers and the wider financial services profession.They discuss whether the FCA is right to be concerned, whether 'finfluencers' are good or bad for the future of financial services, and whether it's important for advisers to put themselves on social media at all.The FTAdviser Podcast is the weekly podcast for financial advisers, brought to you by FTAdviser. Each week, FTAdviser is joined by guests from the industry to discuss the week in news and pressing industry issues. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As the world tentatively emerges from the pandemic, the thoughts of many market participants are starting to turn to the next phase of the economic cycle, and the potential for higher inflation to take hold and disrupt markets.In this podcast, Remi Olu-Pitan, multi-asset investor at Schroders, Chris Darbyshire, chief investment officer at Walker Crips, and Charlie Parker, managing director at Albemarle Street Partners, discuss the options for investors seeking to prepare portfolios for higher inflation. This podcast is sponsored by Schroders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This year marks a decade since Vanguard's Lifestrategy range launched in the UK and to say the passive funds had proven popular would be to downplay the situation.The five multi-asset funds are now worth £29bn and earlier this year their monthly inflows hit £1bn.But Lifestrategy range, which costs just 22bps, isn't just popular with investors. Advisers have also flocked to the range over the course of the past decade, integrating it into their propositions. So, what effects has this had?This week FTAdviser digital editor Damian Fantato is joined by Graham Bentley, managing director of GBI2, and Mike Barrett, consulting director at the Lang Cat, to find out.They discuss whether Lifestrategy has changed the way advice is delivered, whether this has always been for the better and whether Lifestrategy's dominance is likely to continue.The FTAdviser Podcast is the weekly podcast for financial advisers, brought to you by FTAdviser. Each week, FTAdviser is joined by guests from the industry to discuss the week in news and pressing industry issues. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Much has been made of the need to start saving as early as possible and to keep this habit going as long as possible. But when it comes to pension provision, are the current products available suitable for all generations? Is the current advice or perceived wisdom around pension planning as appropriate for someone aged 20 as it might be for someone in their 40s or 50s? And why should it matter how old someone is when it comes to having a proper conversation about long-term retirement provision?Joining Simoney Kyriakou, senior editor of FTAdviser, on this podcast to discuss all these issues and more, are Saksha Menezes, intern for FTAdviser; Sir Steve Webb, partner at LCP; and Robert Cochran, senior corporate pensions specialist for Scottish Widows. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last month the Financial Conduct Authority published its business plan for 2021-22, setting out how it plans to adapt itself to the "profound forces transforming the entire landscape of financial services". But what does this mean for financial advisers?The FCA has said it will be conducting a review into the scope and coverage of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. Will this bring about the reform that advisers want? And what impact will the tougher approach on authorisations have?This week FTAdviser's digital editor Damian Fantato is joined by Tim Fassam, director of government relations and policy at Pimfa, and Neil Moles, chief executive of Progeny Group, to discuss these issues.They discuss what the FCA's cancelled suitability review means, whether the FCA's suggestion that it might shift the focus away from the FSCS onto capital adequacy will work and whether a tougher "authorisation gateway" can address issues such as phoenixing.The FTAdviser Podcast is the weekly podcast for financial advisers, brought to you by FTAdviser. Each week, FTAdviser is joined by guests from the industry to discuss the week in news and pressing industry issues. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last week the government announced a U-turn in its cladding guidance. It said leaseholders living in buildings under 18 metres tall would no longer need external wall application (EWS1) forms. Many leaseholders have found themselves “stuck” in properties deemed undesirable by lenders due to the risk of huge cladding removal bills - some estimated at as much as £70,000 - hanging over them.Now, high street lenders HSBC, Barclays, and Lloyds Banking Group have committed to reviewing their practices following the government’s new advice to “further unlock the housing market”.But why now? Will lenders really change their approach? And what are the issues which arise from a blanket-wide 'ban' on EWS1 forms for all buildings under 18m? This week, Ruby Hinchliffe, reporter at FTAdviser, is joined by Geoff Bramall, head of professional development at Legal & General Surveying Services, and Catherine Beaumont, a mortgage consultant at London Money.They discuss the government's "change of heart" on EWS1 forms, the fact they have seen no lenders make immediate changes to their risk appetites on these buildings, and the impracticalities of ignoring the clear need for EWS1 forms on some buildings.The FTAdviser Podcast is the weekly podcast for financial advisers, brought to you by FTAdviser. Each week, FTAdviser is joined by guests from the industry to discuss the week in news and pressing industry issues. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Over the next few decades it is estimated that trillions of pounds will pass from one generation to the next: primarily from baby-boomers, who have ridden the wave of rising asset prices to their millennial children, who haven't always been as lucky.But ever since the pension freedom reforms of 2015, the big worry many savers have had is how they can turn their pension savings into an income so they can enjoy themselves in retirement.So what role does the pension have in the intergenerational wealth transfer? How can advisers help their clients make sure there are no nasty surprises on death? And what role does the adviser have in working with the whole family?In this edition of the FTAdviser In Focus podcast, Damian Fantato is joined by Gareth Davies, pension specialist at Scottish Widows, and Heather Owen, paraplanner at Quilter, to discuss these questions.The FTAdviser Podcast is the weekly podcast for financial advisers, brought to you by FTAdviser. Each week, FTAdviser is joined by guests from the industry to discuss the week in news and pressing industry issues. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Many in the advice profession have debated the benefits of face-to-face versus digital advice for several years. But over the past 18 months, many advisers have been unable to offer face-to-face advice and many robo-advisers have retreated from the market after finding the market wasn't as big as they thought.So what does the future of advice look like? M&G Wealth, which is currently expanding into the advice market after launching last year, believes the answer is hybrid advice. But what does that mean, and can other advice firms imitate its approach.This week, Damian Fantato, digital editor of FTAdviser, is joined by Richard Caldicott, deputy chief executive of M&G Wealth Advice, Terry Donohoe, European chief executive of Ignition - which is working with M&G Wealth on its hybrid advice proposition, and Sam Turner, a consultant at Altus Consulting who has recently written a white paper on the issue of hybrid advice.They discuss what, if anything, went wrong with pure robo-advice, what hybrid advice actually consists of and why it's different to just calling clients on Zoom, how algorithms can be used and what impact hybrid advice can have on fees, charges and the type of clients served.The FTAdviser Podcast is the weekly podcast for financial advisers, brought to you by FTAdviser. Each week, FTAdviser is joined by guests from the industry to discuss the week in news and pressing industry issues. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.