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How to check a financial adviser on the FCA Register
11 July 2026

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.

ComplianceFinancial advice
The dying-intestate risk any professional can flag
8 July 2026

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…

Wills & estatesCompliance
What an introducer actually is (and what they must never do)
4 July 2026

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…

Referral feesComplianceIntroducer status
What is an introducer? The rules for referring clients, explained
29 June 2026

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…

ComplianceReferral fees
“Do you know a good financial adviser?” — the compliant answer
22 June 2026

“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.

ComplianceFinancial advice
No lasting power of attorney: the safeguard clients skip
21 June 2026

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…

Wills & estatesCompliance
Pension scams: the warning signs that repeat every time
13 June 2026

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…

CompliancePensions & retirement
How to disclose a referral fee to your client
8 June 2026

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…

ComplianceReferral fees
The compliant referral conversation, word by word
6 June 2026

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…

Practice growthClient conversationsCompliance
SRA vs CLC: Referral-Income Rules for Conveyancers, Plainly
20 May 2026

SRA vs CLC: Referral-Income Rules for Conveyancers, Plainly

Conveyancers are regulated either by the SRA or the CLC, and both permit referral income under clear conditions. This is a plain-…

Financial adviceCompliance
Referral fees for marketing agencies: what the rules actually say
14 May 2026

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 feesCompliance
Referral fees for IT consultants: what the rules actually say
12 May 2026

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 feesCompliance
Referral fees for insurance brokers: what the rules actually say
11 May 2026

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…

ComplianceReferral fees
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 fees for conveyancers: what the rules actually say
8 May 2026

Referral fees for conveyancers: what the rules actually say

Conveyancers can pay and receive referral fees. But the CLC, the SRA and Trading Standards all expect the client to know who is p…

Referral feesCompliance
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
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
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 …

RAO Article 33RegulationCompliance
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
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
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…

ComplianceReferral fees
How conveyancers can offer financial-advice referrals without becoming regulated
18 March 2026

How conveyancers can offer financial-advice referrals without becoming regulated

Conveyancers meet clients at the exact moment protection, wills and financial advice become urgent. Here is how to refer complian…

ComplianceReferral fees