SmartPeer
Referral fees for HR consultants: what the rules actually say
10 May 2026

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…

ComplianceReferral fees
Referral audit trails: what good evidence looks like
25 April 2026

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…

ComplianceAudit trailRecord keeping
Refer what you don't write: the broker's guide to pensions and investments referrals
24 April 2026

Refer what you don't write: the broker's guide to pensions and investments referrals

Mortgage clients routinely raise pensions and investments in the same breath as their mortgage. Here is how to handle those momen…

Referral feesPensions & retirement
Redundancy and a lump sum: the referral a professional should make
24 April 2026

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…

Financial advicePractice growth
Red flags in a referral arrangement, and how to avoid them
23 April 2026

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…

RiskDue diligenceCompliance
Recurring vs one-off referral income: what to expect
23 April 2026

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…

Referral feesPractice growthIncome
Specialise, then refer the rest: the referral case for niching
22 April 2026

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…

Practice growthReferral fees
RAO Article 33, explained for professionals who refer
22 April 2026

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 …

ComplianceRAO Article 33Regulation
A vulnerable beneficiary and the trust conversation
20 April 2026

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…

ComplianceWills & estates
The mortgage broker's guide to wills and estate planning referrals
15 April 2026

The mortgage broker's guide to wills and estate planning referrals

Why completion is the natural moment for wills, LPAs and estate planning, what to listen for in client conversations, and how UK …

Referral feesWills & estates
How mortgage brokers turn completions into a referral income line
14 April 2026

How mortgage brokers turn completions into a referral income line

A practical playbook for UK mortgage brokers: audit what you refer away for free, build referral prompts into your completion pro…

Practice growthFinancial advice
Measuring referral income: the metric hiding in plain sight
14 April 2026

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…

Practice growth
Why mortgage brokers lose the protection conversation — and how to keep its value
13 April 2026

Why mortgage brokers lose the protection conversation — and how to keep its value

Mortgage brokers raise protection at exactly the right moment, then lose the complex cases and the wider advice questions that su…

Practice growthProtection
The client with no will: the commonest referral you're missing
7 April 2026

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…

Practice growthWills & estates
Mortgage completion: the protection and advice moment you're standing in
3 April 2026

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…

Referral feesProtection
Later-life lending clients and the estate-planning referral
27 March 2026

Later-life lending clients and the estate-planning referral

Clients arranging later-life lending are usually weighing what they leave behind. The estate-planning referral could not sit more…

Wills & estatesReferral fees
How mortgage brokers can offer financial-advice referrals without becoming regulated
26 March 2026

How mortgage brokers can offer financial-advice referrals without becoming regulated

Mortgage brokers are FCA-authorised — for mortgage business. Clients' pension and investment questions need different permissions…

ComplianceReferral fees
How marketing agencies can offer financial-advice referrals without becoming regulated
25 March 2026

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…

ComplianceReferral fees
How IT consultants can offer financial-advice referrals without becoming regulated
22 March 2026

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…

ComplianceReferral fees
An inheritance just landed: why it's a referral, not a windfall
21 March 2026

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…

Financial advicePractice growth
How insurance brokers can offer financial-advice referrals without becoming regulated
21 March 2026

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…

Referral feesCompliance
How HR consultants can offer financial-advice referrals without becoming regulated
20 March 2026

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…

Referral feesCompliance
Idle cash: when a client's balance is a referral waiting to happen
18 March 2026

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…

Financial advicePractice growth
How to choose a referral network you can trust
17 March 2026

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…

Practice growthComplianceDue diligence