The FCA, the Financial Vulnerability Taskforce and others have been shining an increasingly brightly light on vulnerable clients in recent years, and rightly so.
The issue is how to look after and advise vulnerable clients who may lack some capacity to make informed, balanced decisions on their finances.
The fact is that we have an ageing population and getting older brings an increased risk of vulnerability. The issue is also about how we deal with, potentially, a rising number of vulnerable clients who may eventually number in the thousands or even hundreds of thousands.
A story from a few years ago sticks with me. I was chatting to a Financial Planner and we got talking about how Financial Planners deal with client vulnerabilities.
Pre-video calling days, she said she had an elderly lady client of advanced years who was increasingly reluctant to visit the office even though it was just a few hundred yards away. When asked why, she said she did not want to leave her beloved, and also ageing, dog alone in the house.
For the next visit the planner arranged for the lady to be collected from home and taken to the office with her dog. A junior member of staff then took the client for a walk around the local village while the planner reviewed the lady’s finances with her, taking time to go through everything carefully. Result: happy client (who would have missed out on some important advice without the meeting) and a happy dog.
Another planner a few years later told me that as their clients age they often were among the first to spot signs of fading memory. They noticed some clients forgetting key information, looking a bit dishevelled or becoming repetitive. In these cases they gently advised the clients or the family to seek medical help. Often the planner was the first too spot early signs of dementia as they had worked with them for many years and had noticed small but significant changes, they said.
In many ways planners are indeed on the front line with all this. Often they work with clients in their seventies and eighties or even older. I know of some Paraplanners who deal with clients of over 100. While age does not always mean vulnerability there is often a link.
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Many of the victims of fraudsters and scammers are trusting older people well past 70. Family abuse of older people is also becoming too common.
It’s often presumed, quite wrongly, that the percentage of vulnerable clients is very small. I suspect from what I’m hearing anecdotally that few Financial Planners do not have a client list which includes some clients they are concerned about. Some may already be fairly or extremely vulnerable.
With this in mind, a survey by consultants AKG out this week suggests the raising of awareness on these issues is beginning to pay dividends.
AKG’s study found that financial advisers are steadily changing their attitudes and responses to vulnerable clients, particularly on mental health challenges. Nearly two out of five advisers (39%) say they now consider clients’ mental health when providing advice.
On the downside there is clearly much more to do with just 17% of advisers believing the financial services sector provides enough support on vulnerable clients.
Nearly half of advisers (47%) say they would welcome more support from providers on preparing for the forthcoming Consumer Duty and its vulnerable customer requirements. Some 55% of advisers say they would value support on identifying and supporting vulnerable customers and 50% would like training to help identify and service vulnerable customers.
There is a real opportunity here for planners and providers to make substantial progress in how they help vulnerable clients.
It’s clear from recent anecdotal evidence that there is great work being done but the industry generally can do much more. When the Consumer Duty arrives the FCA will be asking questions on how advisers are dealing with vulnerable clients. Adviser will need to be able to demonstrate what they do and how they make a difference.
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Kevin O’Donnell is editor of Financial Planning Today and has worked as a journalist and editor for over three decades.
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