Insights
Referral guides for professional firms - spotting the moment, referring clients compliantly, and earning a share.
Referral compliance for letting agents, plainly
Letting agents can earn from referrals without regulatory worry, as long as they understand one boundary. This is that boundary, …
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…
Redundancy and a lump sum: the referral a professional should make
A redundancy payout lands amid upheaval and rarely comes with a plan. Here is how to recognise the moment and make the introducti…
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…
Recurring vs one-off referral income: what to expect
Referral income comes in two broad shapes, one-off and recurring, and knowing which is which changes how you think about the valu…
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 …
Specialise, then refer the rest: the referral case for niching
Specialising makes a firm memorable and referable, but it also raises more out-of-scope questions. A referral network is what mak…
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…
Measuring referral income: the metric hiding in plain sight
Professional firms track chargeable hours obsessively and referral income not at all. Measuring what your introductions are worth…
Portfolio succession: the estate-planning referral landlords ignore
The bigger a landlord's portfolio, the more they have avoided the question of who inherits it and how. You are well placed to sur…
The client with no will: the commonest referral you're missing
The single most common estate-planning trigger is also the easiest to overlook: a client who has simply never got round to making…
Mortgage completion: the protection and advice moment you're standing in
The moment a client takes on a large mortgage is a textbook trigger for protection and wider advice. Here is how to spot it and r…
Landlord protection: the cover most landlords have never reviewed
Landlords protect bricks and mortar as a matter of course. What happens to the rent and the mortgage if life goes wrong is a ques…
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…
How letting agents can offer financial-advice referrals without becoming regulated
Letting agents hold long, trusted relationships with landlords facing genuinely hard financial decisions. Here is how to refer th…
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…
An inheritance just landed: why it's a referral, not a windfall
When a client inherits, a large sum lands amid grief and uncertainty. Here is how to recognise the moment and hand it over with c…
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…
Idle cash: when a client's balance is a referral waiting to happen
Cash that sits still for years is often a sign that no one has looked at the bigger picture. Here is how to spot it and pass it o…
How to choose a referral network you can trust
Not all referral networks are equal, and the wrong one can put your reputation and your clients at risk. These are the things wor…
How referral tracking works — and why it protects you
When you make an introduction, something has to record that it happened, tie it to any eventual fee, and stand up to scrutiny lat…
Divorce and a financial plan torn in two: your cue to refer
A separation rearranges a client's entire financial life. Here is how to recognise the moment, handle it with care, and refer.
How to disclose a referral fee to a client, properly
Disclosing that you earn a share when you refer a client is not an awkward admission to be buried; it is a professional obligatio…