I have a pretty good grasp of the English language. It is, after all, the only language I speak. But that does not mean I don’t occasionally misuse a word.
For years I used the word ‘obnoxious’ when I meant ‘putrid’ — close, but not quite right. During a recent presentation, I nearly used the word ‘inane’ when I meant ‘innate’ — an easy mistake to make, I think.
And, perhaps my crowning glory, I once used the word ‘cuckolded’ to mean ‘blocked’ — much to the amusement of my dad, who told me I probably shouldn’t use that word again.
There are so many words in the English language; trying to quantify exactly how many took me down a very deep rabbit hole that wouldn’t be hugely helpful for this article. This makes it likely you’ll sometimes use the wrong word.
I asked a lot of advisers/planners how they referred to themselves. Most said it didn’t really matter as long as the client was getting a good service
It also makes it tricky to always know which word to use. For example, is ‘advice’ really the right word to describe the profession you work in?
If you ask ChatGPT for synonyms for ‘advice’, it gives you a lot. Guidance, counsel, help, direction, instruction, information, enlightenment, suggestions, hints and opinions, to name just a few. I like the term ‘financial enlightenment’. Maybe we should take that up.
Regulatory boundary
As we all know, the Financial Conduct Authority is in the process of examining the regulatory boundary between financial advice and other forms of support — commonly known as the Advice Guidance Boundary Review.
I was having a chat with Money Marketing’s former editor, Katey Pigden (poached by The Lang Cat), the other day and we got onto the topic of the review. Katey questioned whether ‘guidance’ might actually be a better term for what advisers do.
In everyday vernacular, if you give someone advice, the implication is that they can take it or leave it. Meanwhile, if you guide someone, this suggests a higher level of support than just suggesting they do something. So, maybe you’re financial guides?
I like the term ‘financial enlightenment’. Maybe we should take that up
Last October, NextWealth, in its Financial Advice Business Benchmarks report, looked into what client-facing staff within advice firms called themselves. It determined that use of the title ‘planner’ was on the rise, with 31% of client-facing staff within the profession now using the term to refer to themselves.
After all, the qualification you receive from the Chartered Insurance Institute is called the advanced diploma in financial ‘planning’, not financial ‘advice’. And, if you receive chartered status, you’re a chartered financial ‘planner’.
Collaboration
Finova Money co-founder Rob Schwarz posted about this on LinkedIn recently.
Maybe we don’t need to change the terminology — just be clearer about what regulated financial advice actually is
Schwarz suggests the key difference is that a planner will collaborate with a client to design and build their bespoke financial plan before advising them on any financial products. An adviser, on the other hand, will “skip this important first step” and “jump straight to diagnosing your problem and prescribing financial products to fix it”.
I asked a lot of advisers/planners how they referred to themselves. Most said it didn’t really matter as long as the client was getting a good service. Strategic Partners director Roy McLoughlin even jokingly referred to himself as a “financial architect”. It’s just that he designs financial plans instead of buildings.
So, perhaps there isn’t a need to change the term ‘advice’ after all. Maybe we just need to be clearer about what regulated financial advice actually is.
Is ‘advice’ really the right word to describe the profession you work in?
For many who don’t work in the profession, it’s not something they’re aware of. Before I joined MM, I had no idea how the role of financial adviser differed from that of accountant. And I know many people are convinced that Martin Lewis is a financial adviser, despite the fact that he constantly tells us he is not.
Whether it’s called ‘financial advice’, ‘financial guidance’ or ‘financial enlightenment’, if people don’t know what advisers do, or that they even exist, they’re not going to seek their services. Clearly, we need to be shouting more about the profession.
Lois Vallely is chief reporter. Contact her at: lois.vallely@moneymarketing.co.uk
This article featured in the July/August 2024 edition of Money Marketing.
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An old gaffer once told me …call yourself what you like ..
So I spent hours giving myself fancy titles… only to be faced with the stark reality …who really does give a monkey’s
People want accountability not titles… a person to blame, a person to ask, a person to get things done…
I suppose, yes you can call yourself what you like …
But the reality is (in this industry) ….are you registered, regulated, insured and qualified ?
If not, you may as well just call yourself the man, woman, it, that, or frying pan in the pub !!
The correct term is financial planner and this is not an industry or a profession.
Many professionals (such as doctors, lawyers, accountants and prostitutes) can make make a good living by solving urgent “today” problems for their customer despite having no charisma.
Ours is a craft because we specialize in solving tomorrow’s problems for our customers
Lois,,,,, your ChatGPT is correct, after 38 years of giving financial “Advice”, ChatGBT has our relasionship with a client exatcly right. I see nothing wrong with its responce. the FCA once asked us to put in our new bussness registers what we did for a client , without remuneration!!! I think ChatGBT new the answer!!!! RM
For goodness sake, not more agonising on titles. The most appropriate for many has been IFA. Independent (the gold standard) Financial (because that’s the field we work in) And Adviser, because that’s what we do. And Lois – you are quite right clients can take it or leave it. Either way they pay the bill. What do you suggest? High pressure sales and a foot in the door? If there are people who don’t know what a Financial Adviser does (independent or otherwise), is this the sort of person we want as a client?
I notice that many states in the USA, schools now have personal finance lessons and it is a condition of graduation that these are taken and passes achieved. They are taught about investing, the stock market, saving, debt etc. In the UK we just have too many who are illiterate and innumerate. Those whom we persistently lament as belonging to the so-called advice gap.
In principle this is a good move…
The problem in UK, is that it is being implemented by banks who will be less than honest about how they operate, how they earn their money…oh, and past crimes and shortfalls…
I doubt Govt. will lend an ear to the advice sector, their own ears are lent to banks and fund managers… even, still, the CII…
I wonder if product providers would sponsor IFAs in educational establishments… no doubt the advice content would be crowded out by the branding…
To me, all an adviser can do is point something better than exisiting or planned for the same ending, and broaden the considerations which, hitherto, may not have been considered…
In the end giving choices to clients in terms of time and timing, flexibility to reassess and adapt, and protection from various factors was all I said I could achieve with them…
I can probably halve your (future) tax bills, give better structured protection for less and more control, show you how to hedge bonds/FI with short structured futures… but… if you don’t want to pay any tax then we cannot do business… if so, then live in Monaco/Vanuatu and have done with it!
I was relieved to exit retail 20 more years ago as the compliance and regulation nonsense was getting too much – yes, even interrupting post luncheon liquers
:-O
It is now at a level which demands more patience than diligence… This means language becomes ever more important – I do mean beyond spellchecker and AI – effective language could even include…’What do you actually want from all this’?
Perhaps being intelligent but not academic is the true skill in people to people situations… I want to know what it does, not be told what it is… The best consumer manuals are RARELY written by engineers!