Ministers plan to prohibit the fees that personal injury lawyers pay to insurers as part of attempts to end Britain’s supposed ‘compensation culture’

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MPs warn on insurance fees

Office of Fair Trading calls for banks to disclose more clearly the fees charged when customers withdraw money or make payments outside the UK

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Debit card fees on foreign cash dropped

Chief executive George Higginson says some advisers are selling their advice too cheaply and will be forced to increase their fees to cover their costs after RDR.

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Sesame: Advisers are selling services too cheaply

Chief executive George Higginson says some advisers are selling their advice too cheaply and will be forced to increase their fees to cover their costs after RDR.

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Sesame: Advisers are selling services too cheaply

Most top UK law firms will charge higher fees next year, according to an annual survey by Sweet & Maxwell

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UK law firms plan to charge higher fees

This Consolidated Policy Statement (PS) summarises our policy with regard to our fee-raising powers under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. This PS gives a broad overview of our fees rules and firms should always consult the Fees Manual in the current version of our Handbook of Rules and Guidance to see how the rules would apply in their particular circumstances.

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Consolidated Policy Statement on our fee-raising arrangements and regulatory fees and levies

Nest has refused to release details of the fees charged by its investment fund managers due to concerns that the disclosure would “prejudice the commercial interests” of the scheme.

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Nest refuses to reveal fund manager fees

Michael O’Higgins says professional pension providers should be required to show their fees and charges as a percentage of investment returns to customers who buy their savings products

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UK pensions chairman calls for fees change

Investors may like the idea of fees, but they should ask detailed questions about how the fees work and check that they are calculated correctly

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More mutual funds take carrot-and-stick stance

How to Choose a Compliance Consultant

(Acknowledgements to Alan Weiss, www.summitconsulting.com)

 Every financial services business occasionally needs outside help. Even well-run giants such as RBS, Lloyds, Aviva, Barclaycard, and many other firms deliberately choose to bring in compliance consultants on a regular basis. For smaller businesses, an outside consultant can offer the following advantages:

• ? Objective advice, not geared toward political advancement or promotion
• ? Frame of reference and best practices from other clients
• ? Models and methodology to gain results more quickly than internal trial and error
• ? Permanent transfer of skills to internal people The problem, however, is that those external consultancies can create as many problems as they solve. (One definition of a consultant: someone who comes to fix a problem and remains to become a part of it.)

These include:

• ? Threatening employees by the mere presence of an “outsider”
•  ? Reliance on “off-the-shelf” fixed methods which don’t fit the current client very well
•  ? Lack of sensitivity to the client’s business, culture, and environment (a financial adviser practice is not run the same way as an accountancy practice)
• ? Solutions that worked for large organisations cannot always be simply scaled down
• ? “Ideal” solutions not really practical for the client’s business and have limited or no real value

I’ve been in consulting since 2000 and, to my astonishment, I find currently that about 50% of those calling themselves “consultants” don’t really know what they’re doing, but what is worse is that almost 90% of those buying consulting services don’t know how to tell the difference! To remedy that, here is a primer on how to hire the best possible consultant for your needs:

Referrals:, Ask business colleagues you trust for names of people they have used for similar needs, and find out specifically what the results were. (Don’t ask the consultant for references, because they will be hand-selected, wonderful, and meaningless.)

Credentials: Has the consultant ever worked in an adviser capacity? Have they ever held down a conventional job? What are their academic compliance qualifications? How many similar IFAs or other organisations have been clients? Every consultant has to start somewhere, but I’d strongly advise that their start not be with you! (They should start in a larger consulting firm, and should also have “real world” experience.)

Chemistry: Meet with the prospective consultant several times before hiring. Ask yourself if you see the other person as a peer and a potential partner. If you don’t respect them, or see them as merely a vendor or subordinate, don’t hire them. You don’t need another employee; you need a business partner for a particular issue.

Demeanour: The individual should look professional and act accordingly. (Don’t worry if you get their voice mail because good consultants should be busy. The key is, do they get back to you promptly?) Their language should be clear and articulate. At meals, they should know which silverware to use and not spill their soup on your lap.

Proposal: The consultant should provide you with a proposal that is based on achieving clear business outcomes, and not on merely delivering technology or methodology. In other words, running focus groups or delivering training programs is simply a task; improving sales results or enhancing customer satisfaction is a business outcome. Achieving the former and not the latter is worthless.

Fees: The consultant should provide a fixed fee for the project. Hourly rates are not as effective, because there is a “meter running” as long as the consultant is working, and there is a built in conflict of interest, since the longer the project takes, the more the consultant is paid. Insist on a fixed fee or at least a cap on the hours.

A good consultant frames an issue quickly but doesn’t suggest solutions too quickly, because he or she realises that they don’t know what they don’t know until they begin to gather more data.

A good consultant will not promise the moon and the stars, and will never base as approach on tests or instruments that are purchased for a few pounds from other companies. (You get what you pay for.)

A good consultant is someone you’ll hate to see go when the project ends on time, and who you’ll want to invite back at the first appropriate new challenge.

Every business reaches a point where an outside opinion or a breath of fresh air is required. But just because someone lives over 100 miles from home and carrying a briefcase doesn’t mean he is a consultant. Use the criteria above and, most importantly, use your judgment: Is this someone you would trust with your wallet?

 Lee Werrell holds Chartered Members status with the CISI, is a Fellow of the Institute of Sales & Marketing Management and a member of the Association of Compliance Consultant, the Business Continuity Institute and holds the Certificate in Personal Financial Planning (Cert PFS). CEI Compliance works on an alternative basis by collaboration and does not charge per hour, day or week. Call CEI on 0800 689 9 689 to make your first appointment.