Outcome 5
Consumers are provided with products that perform as Firms have led them to expect, and the associated service is of an acceptable standard and as they have been led to expect.
Clients are always provided with products that to the best of the adviser’s knowledge will perform according to expectation and that the associated service is of an acceptable standard. There are two ways in which this can be demonstrated: first, because the firm is wholly fee-based, there is no commission bias in the recommendation of one product or another. Second, in the majority of cases, client’s assets are held on a ‘wrap’ platform. If the service standards delivered by the platform provider were sub-standard, then this would reflect badly on the Firm and because the client is paying the Firm directly, there is a powerful incentive for the Firm to ensure that provider service is of the highest standard. In cases where products are held directly, the same logic applies.