North Scotland Regional Conference 2 2022

Copia’s presentation to the PFS events will share, for the first time in public, the findings of a major new research study among advisers. It will focus on how adviser businesses can improve their operational efficiency, become more profitable, manage increasing regulatory pressures and even achieve a better sale valuation. The presentation will be based on the findings from a major independent research study commissioned by Copia from the lang cat, which interviewed more than 100 advisers and which will be shared for the first time in public at the PFS Regional Conferences. The presentation will share the views of advisers, and the owners of adviser businesses, on the costs and burdens of building and running a typical adviser CIP, and the attractiveness of the alternative options such as outsourcing the CIP. The presentation will analyse the 5 stage CIP process from design to implementation, monitoring, maintenance and reporting, and show where the pain points sit in terms of financial cost, time requirements and governance. It will also look at advisers’ key concerns for the future, including the burden of increasing regulation, for example around Consumer Duty and ESG. Finally, it will cover the alternative options available to advisers as the relationship between adviser firms and DFMs, such as Copia, evolves to provide an insourced ‘modern partnership’ solution.

According to the research, the benefits of the insourcing/outsourcing approach cited by advisers include:

• Access to professional DIMs
• Improved client outcomes
• Time saving
• Business risk reduction
• Opportunities to save cost, including on PI
• Reduced governance burdens
• Support for brand-building and execution

After the presentation, advisers will have the opportunity to acquire a copy of the full Copia research report, discuss it with the Copia team, or book a meeting to benchmark their organisation against the findings and discuss the options open to them to improve their operational efficiency and profitability.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the role centralised investment propositions (CIP) play in generating positive outcomes for advice firms and their clients.
• Review the new Copia research to assess good practice learnings from other advice firms, and to understand how long advice firms typically spend operating their CIP
• Look at how advice firms can future proof their CIP to ensure regulatory compliance, operational efficiency, and the optimum client outcomes

In this presentation we look at two of the hot topics Royal London’s technical team are regularly asked about. The first of these looks at using pensions as a tax reducer and the planning opportunities which exist with pension contributions. We’ll look at the benefits of paying a pension contribution considering adjusted net income, the personal allowance and child benefit tax traps. We’ll also look at dividends and how a pension contribution can reduce the taxation of dividends. The second hot topic is the State Pension and the changes since the introduction of the New State Pension in April 2016. We explore the accrual of the State Pension including State Pension forecasting, “topping-up” missing years, and increasing State Pension via deferral. We also explore how significant a source of retirement income the state pension is for many people in the UK, and the planning points you may want to consider.

Learning objectives

• Understand how pension contributions can help reduce tax bills
• Describe how pension contributions can help restore lost pension allowances
• Explain the legislative changes affecting state pension provision

Recent research states that over 75% of investors are interested in sustainable investments, and with regulators increasingly focussed on this area, it’s never been more important for you to consider responsible investment in your advice process.

Learning objectives:

• What is responsible and sustainable investment and why is it important?
• What ESG and Active Ownership mean for investment management?
• How responsible investment creates advice opportunities and benefits for your clients
• How to conduct a conversation by asking the right questions
• How you can avoid greenwashing and provide valuable insights to clients beyond investment returns.

In the real world, markets are difficult to navigate and much like a game of Monopoly, having a strategy is essential. In this macro presentation Fidelity will highlight some of the key investment themes we expect to see in 2022, with a focus on how financial advisers can tactfully achieve ‘board domination’ when building their clients’ portfolios. There are some valuable lessons to teach: spread yourself out across the board intelligently, focus on cash flows, be patient, and sometimes it pays to take chance.

Learning objectives:

• Understand the impact of inflation and central banks’ monetary policies on financial markets, and how to support clients through this.
• Assess how portfolios should be built in light of this, with a focus on how to protect capital and identify opportunities.
•  Explore future investment trends and assess the impact they may have going forward.

With yet more regulatory upheaval in the form of the latest FCA consultation on the introduction of a Consumer Duty, we’ll address this in the context of a wide range of financial planning opportunities including gifting and personal taxation – which also addresses the increased demand on advisers for intergenerational planning advice. We’ll also consider some of the key considerations for clients already in drawdown and the impact markets could have on their longer term plans. And let’s not forget with many clients living beyond the age of 75yrs it’s likely those with larger funds will see a test against the Lifetime Allowance at this time. What could this mean for them, their beneficiaries and how can we plan for this. Planning for the succession of family assets is often neither straight forward or a smooth road but is an area where you can clearly demonstrate the value of comprehensive advice for your clients. We’ll use examples throughout that reflect typical client scenarios.

Learning objectives:

By the end of the session you will be able to:

• Identify the different options for wealth transfer and wealth creation
• Explain the key issues for reviewing older clients in drawdown
• Demonstrate the personal taxation implications for gifting