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Referral guides for professional firms - spotting the moment, referring clients compliantly, and earning a share.
Showing articles tagged Compliance — clear filter
How to check a financial adviser on the FCA Register
Every legitimate adviser appears on the FCA Register. Every clone scam depends on you not looking. Here's the checking routine.
The dying-intestate risk any professional can flag
Dying intestate is not a rare misfortune; it is the default for anyone without a valid will. Understanding the basic risk lets an…
What an introducer actually is (and what they must never do)
An introducer connects a client to a firm that can help; an adviser tells the client what to do. Understanding exactly where that…
What is an introducer? The rules for referring clients, explained
The referral world has its own jargon and its own rulebook. A field guide for professionals who'd like to be paid without becomin…
“Do you know a good financial adviser?” — the compliant answer
You can refer. You can't advise. The gap between those two sentences is where most of the confusion lives.
No lasting power of attorney: the safeguard clients skip
Estate planning is not only about death. A lasting power of attorney protects a client if they lose the capacity to make decision…
Pension scams: the warning signs that repeat every time
Pension fraud costs victims their retirements, not just their savings. The pattern is depressingly consistent — which makes it le…
How to disclose a referral fee to your client
The disclosure conversation feels harder than it is. Here's the structure, the timing, and what a clean paragraph of wording actu…
The compliant referral conversation, word by word
A compliant referral is mostly a matter of language: introducing clearly, disclosing honestly, and never straying into advice. Th…
Referral fees for tax advisers: professional rules and how to stay compliant
Referral fees sit in a grey area for many tax advisers. Here is what the professional rules actually require, and how a structure…
Referral fees for marketing agencies: what the rules actually say
No statute stops a marketing agency taking referral fees. But agencies serving financial clients sit near section 21 of FSMA — a …
Referral fees for IT consultants: what the rules actually say
IT consultants face no statutory referral-fee ban. The traps are contractual conflict clauses, the FCA perimeter when clients nee…
Referral fees for insurance brokers: what the rules actually say
FCA-authorised insurance brokers can pay and receive referral fees. The rulebook cares about conflicts, disclosure of remuneratio…
Referral fees for HR consultants: what the rules actually say
HR consultants face no statutory ban on referral fees. The real constraints sit elsewhere: bribery law, the boundary around finan…
Referral audit trails: what good evidence looks like
In a regulated environment, being able to show what happened is nearly as important as doing the right thing. A good referral aud…
Red flags in a referral arrangement, and how to avoid them
A bad referral arrangement rarely announces itself, but it does leave clues. Here are the red flags worth watching for and the si…
RAO Article 33, explained for professionals who refer
Article 33 of the RAO carves out a narrow, sensible space in which introducing a client is not itself a regulated activity. This …
A vulnerable beneficiary and the trust conversation
When a client has a disabled, dependent, or otherwise vulnerable relative, a straightforward inheritance can create real problems…
PCRT and referral arrangements: staying inside the code
CIOT and ATT members work to the Professional Conduct in Relation to Taxation standards. Referral arrangements are not banned by …
How marketing agencies can offer financial-advice referrals without becoming regulated
Marketing agencies hear founders' real financial ambitions before almost anyone else. Here is how to refer those moments to regul…
Introducing is not advising: the line tax advisers must hold
The whole model rests on one line: you introduce, you do not advise on the regulated work. Understanding exactly what that means,…
How IT consultants can offer financial-advice referrals without becoming regulated
IT consultants become accidental confidants to owner-managers. Here is how to turn the money questions you cannot answer into com…
How insurance brokers can offer financial-advice referrals without becoming regulated
Insurance brokers are regulated — for insurance. Pensions and investment questions sit outside most brokers' permissions. Here is…
How HR consultants can offer financial-advice referrals without becoming regulated
HR consultants hear financial questions from exiting employees, anxious managers and owner-clients alike. Here is how to refer th…