Press releases
23 January 2012
Countdown to RDR: AIC's 7 step action plan for advisers
AIC's Training Manager shares her RDR action plan for advisers
With the clock ticking in the countdown to the Retail Distribution Review’s implementation next year, Jacqueline Lockie, Training Manager, Association of Investment Companies (AIC) has shared her 7 step action plan for advisers.
Jacqueline is a Fellow of the Institute of Financial Planning and holder of Certified Financial Planner Licence, for which she was one of the first examiners in the UK. She also holds the Investment Management Certificate and the Professional Investment Certificate.
Jacqueline Lockie, Training Manager, Association of Investment Companies (AIC) said: “Many advisers will be juggling client servicing with trying to organise their businesses at this busy time of the year. It is quite easy to overlook one or more issues on the ‘to do’ list, or dismiss them as just about done, when proper time has not been devoted to thinking things through. In eleven months there won’t be any time left so now is the time to act in a coherent and positive way to what’s on the horizon. RDR is coming!”
The 7 steps
- Decide exactly what service you are going to offer clients. There is much discussion about this but many advisers are just not crystal clear about what is included and excluded in their service offering.
- Decide who will buy your service at the price that is asked by you.
- Decide how you will deliver that service – get a properly structured process.
- Have a defined investment philosophy. Ensure everyone in your firm agrees and make it available to potential and existing clients and other interested parties. Ensure it is clear and not so full of jargon that the layperson cannot make head or tail of it. Don’t just ‘borrow’ someone else’s, you have to believe it yourself! This is important as it will govern how you do things; a compass if you will.
- Assess your existing knowledge within the firm and then establish individual plans, perhaps using one of the various membership bodies’ CPD logs, to benchmark existing knowledge and identify gaps. Then seek the appropriate training to fill those gaps and clearly evidence what new knowledge was gained.
- Get organised to submit your Statement of Professional Standing (SPS). The above steps will help with this too. You can’t start this too early.
- If you haven’t done ALL of this already, then START NOW!
AIC Training
Since October 2011, the AIC has been running free online accredited training for advisers as part of a wider programme of education in the run up to RDR. Written and presented by Jacqueline Lockie, sessions are based on the FSA/FSP syllabus and provide investment company training to level four (as required post 1 January 2013). These training sessions have gained accreditation from the Institute of Financial Planning and Chartered Insurance Institute and the AIC has been approved as an accredited training provider by the Chartered Institute of Securities and Investment. CPD certificates are available once advisers have attended the training and sat the accompanying test. The sessions run for approximately one hour and include up to 20 minutes for live Q&A sessions.
The Next live online AIC training session for advisers is on Venture Capital Trusts (VCTs) on 26 January 2012 at 2pm.
To register for the online training, or to download previous training modules, please register at the AIC’s online Adviser Centre: www.theaic.co.uk/adviser-centre.
- Ends -
Notes to Editors
The Association of Investment Companies (AIC) was founded in 1932 to represent the interests of the investment trust industry – the oldest form of collective investment. Today, the AIC represents a broad range of closed ended investment companies, incorporating investment trusts and other closed ended investment companies and VCTs. The AIC’s members believe that the industry is best served if it is united and speaks with one voice. The AIC’s mission statement is to help Members add value for shareholders over the longer term. The AIC has 345 members and the industry has total assets of approximately £90.3 billion.
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