This was the most popular thread on the Cherry forum in August, which attracted 5,500 unique visitors during the month.
Advisers also expressed concerns about not meeting Consumer Duty standards and discussed how things could be improved.
Another popular topic among brokers was the changes at Tenet which last month decided to sell its appointed representative firms to The Openwork Partnership and LSL.
Advisers on Cherry expressed their shock about what happened with the longstanding company while others said they were not surprised. This prompted a debate about the future of adviser networks and brokers shared their own authorisation strategies for the future.
Proc fees and conditional selling
The topic of procuration fees came up again as one of the more popular discussions and advisers discussed what they believed was a fair fee for product transfers at a time when more borrowers are selecting this option.
Advisers also spoke about conditional selling by estate agents, the best networks and brokers who advise high net worth clients.
Donna Hopton, director at Cherry, said: “As the Cherry broker forum is a trusted arena for intermediaries to discuss matters with their colleagues across the industry, it will surprise no one that Consumer Duty was at the heart of the most popular thread last month.
“Of course, all advisers want to be able to recognise when clients may be vulnerable and act accordingly but there is a substantial degree of concern and frustration over Consumer Duty ‘requirement interpretation’ around vulnerable clients. Not only do advisers fear risks for clients but also for themselves.
“One can only hope that their voices are heard by those who can effect change, as intermediaries have had very little that is positive to say about this issue.”
