Northern Ireland Spring Conference

Discuss a number of key priorities and processes advisers are implementing for consumer duty.

In this session, we provide a practical and in-depth look at proven, science-based strategies to help financial planning professionals improve their influencing skills and consistently persuade others. Increasing your influencing skills helps to build credibility, develop and maintain trusted relationships and improve results. Consumer Duty places such an emphasis on how advisers demonstrate and charge for the value they provide. It also focuses on the importance of clients understanding the advice we offer to make better and informed decisions. Those advisers who communicate clearly, concisely and persuasively can successfully navigate their clients and their business through the Consumer Duty requirements with ease.

• Explain the core principles of persuasion and how they are used.
• Identify key situations where you can apply the influencing principles to your advisory business.
• Understand why attempts to influence sometimes fail and what to do about it.

The Products & Services Outcome and the “avoid causing foreseeable harm” rule will each mean revisiting and updating due diligence reviews on every provider an adviser recommends. And the FCA’s latest Dear CEO letter (issued 2/12/2022) reminded advisers (again) that due diligence (particularly in relation to investments) must be “robust”, so advisers need to take this seriously. This session looks at how to approach this, what you need to look at, how you can evidence your review and the tools to streamline the process for you.

To understand:

• Why research & due diligence is important
• FCA rules & expectations & FOS view
• What to do – key activities & actions
• How to approach it – and evidence your process

Refuel and build up your professional network

We all witnessed the, almost, complete reversal of the mini budget with the Chancellors Autumn Statement introducing the potential for tax rises. You’ll have many clients affected by these changes and you yourself as a business owner may also be affected. We’ll assess the impact these changes will have with the reduction in the additional rate threshold, the dividend allowance and the capital gains exemption. And of course this is exacerbated by the fact that the dividend tax increase of 1.25% introduced in 2022/23 will be maintained in 2023/24. Company shareholders and those who directly hold equity OEIC funds are likely to be affected by all of these factors. This could result in those who do not need the income generated by OEICs moving towards insurance bonds as any dividends received will be exempt from tax. But what about business owners who extract their profits through income and dividends – how will these changes affect them and is there any way to mitigate the tax liability. One thing that is clearer than ever is that pensions continue to be (and are perhaps increasingly so) an efficient method of profit extraction. For any clients nearing the age at which they can withdraw income, currently age 55, this option becomes even more attractive. We’ll journey through a typical business owner profile to assess all of the changes, tax implications and possible planning points from April 2023.

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

• Explain the key tax implications for small business owners 

• Evaluate the planning and advice considerations when advising business owners 

• Demonstrate the impact of profit extraction on individuals  

People are leaving their jobs in droves in what economists have dubbed the ‘Great Resignation’. And we've recently seen a new workplace trend emerge - 'Quiet Quitting'. Group Risk provider, YuLife will be taking a look at what is causing these phenomena and the key trends employers need to be addressing as we head into 2023. They’ll also be diving into how, by redefining the insurance model to move from protection to prevention, and by introducing gamification it can drive engagement and healthy habits for employees.

• Explore the future of work and the changing face of group risk and employee benefits 

• Identify the driving factors behind the “Great Resignation” and the key risks for businesses in 2023 that need addressing 

• Discover how redefining the insurance model to move from protection to prevention and introducing gamification can drive employee engagement 

Grab yourself some lunch whilst speaking with our subject matter experts

Learn about developments in technology to aid the financial planning process.

An overview of where the NI economy currently is including whether we are in recession or out of recession, and where the economy is heading. The talk will address some of the mixed signals in the economy (some indicators have never been better and some have never been worse). Last month, for instance, the chancellor delivered a ‘Budget for Growth’ but the public finance outlook is increasingly challenging, not least in Northern Ireland. Meanwhile, inflation has not eased as quickly as had been anticipated, meaning the cost of living crisis and the cost of doing business crisis are set to continue for longer. This has implications for the Bank of England’s decision-making on interest rates. Dealing with these challenges is difficult enough but not having a functioning government in Stormont, makes a bad situation worse.