TCF with threesixty
threesixty is building on the success of its support for its clients in meeting the FSA’s Treating Customers Fairly (TCF) requirements by providing more hands on assistance in 2008, including TCF Health Checks.
Through its workshops, ongoing updates and risk visits in 2006 and 2007, threesixty has assisted its clients in progressing towards their TCF objectives. threesixty also provided its clients with a tool called the TCF Monitor to help them assess and demonstrate compliance with the FSA’s TCF initiative. The tool gave IFAs a unique software solution to the TCF challenge when many IFAs were unsure about how to respond.
Many of the threesixty clients visited by the FSA in the last 12 months received positive commendations on their approaches to TCF.
The Health Checks will help IFAs meet the two deadlines set by the FSA for 2008. The FSA expects all firms to have had the necessary management information in place to be able to record and monitor TCF by March 2008 and by December 2008 it expects them to demonstrate with evidence that they are treating customers fairly.
In its November 2007 Report called Treating Customers Fairly: Measuring Outcomes, the FSA said that while there had been some signs firms were building fair treatment of customers into their cultures it had seen little evidence that there had been tangible benefits for retail customers.
Phil Young, threesixty Partner, said: “We have been encouraged by the FSA’s commendation of our clients’ approach to TCF and we are keen to support firms to ensure that they meet their TCF objectives in preparation for the FSA’s 2008 deadlines.”
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threesixty Celebrates Fifth Birthday and Signs up 527th Client
threesixty, the fee-based IFA support services provider, has marked its fifth birthday this month. The last five years has seen threesixty grow its client base to 527 IFA firms with an average of 4.8 registered individuals and an average annual turnover of £515,000.
The company has seen its staff level grow from five operational partners and four employees in March 2003 to 50 now, most of whom are client-facing and based at its headquarters in Stockport.
threesixty was initially set up by six partners, including David Brattesani, Laura Chuck, Russell Facer, David Ingram, Ross McArthur and Phil Young, who were joined soon afterwards by David Warnock and Martyn Weaver. The motivation behind the venture was to set up a business model that was fair to IFAs: they believed that clients should only pay for the services they used and on a fee-basis.
threesixty’s core services include compliance, technical training, including weekly information updates, and technological support. IT support is a key offering and the last five years have seen this evolve from a CD-basis to Internet delivery. threesixty can also help clients with FSA authorisation, securing PI insurance at preferential terms, tax consultancy, legal services, obtaining finance, recruitment and special projects, such as due diligence audits.
Over the last five years, threesixty has also provided its clients with specialist technical guides on inheritance tax, highly-regarded tools to meet the treating customers fairly requirements and conduct asset allocation for clients, and has run numerous seminars and training days. threesixty has also helped clients with business development, practice transition, consolidation and exit planning. In response to the rise of M&A activity among IFAs, threesixty has set up a forum on its website for IFAs – both clients and non-clients - to advertise their businesses for sale.
David Ingram, Partner at threesixty, commented: “Over the last five years threesixty has enjoyed one success after another because of our fair and unique proposition to IFAs. Our model of offering quality service on a close personal basis will continue to be valued by IFAs who apply the same high standards to what they do best – advising clients.”