No chance of being tee’d off at PIMS 2018

The greens looked in great shape from afar but there was no time to get the golf clubs out at this year’s ‘grounded’ PIMS – the annual conference that puts financial advisers in touch with services and providers that can help them develop their businesses.

Traditionally held on a cruise ship that sails around the English Channel, the decision to move the event to terra firma looks to have paid off, with good attendance by decision-making advisers from firms keen to find solutions to issues troubling their business development aspirations.

The main themes seemed to be around MiFID II, PROD (Product Intervention and Product Governance Sourcebook) and GDPR and a realisation that the investment processes and platform choices made post RDR weren’t necessarily optimal so changes now need to be made. 

PROD, brought in with MiFID II, adopts a rules-based approach and if you don’t follow the rules you risk enforcement, which means PROD gives the regulator teeth. This is really starting to resonate with advisers, if the discussions I had with them last week are anything to go by. I recently attended a DISCUS session with Rory Percival looking at MiFID II, the implications and how PROD will necessitate a review, so if you would like some  insights, the link is here http://discus.org.uk/9-learnings-from-our-regulatory-change-in-2018-event-with-photos/

Of the 36 meetings I had over 24 hours at PIMS last weekend (it’s definitely still a marathon not a sprint!) it was advisers who are offering their own investment models to clients on an advisory basis who were the most engaged.  The message that it can be better for their clients as well as for their business development to partner with a specialist discretionary investment manager – particularly one that doesn’t interfere with the adviser/client relationship – seems to be getting through.

So, well done Richmond Events. The event ran seamlessly and the team did all they could to ensure that delegates, suppliers and speakers got full value from the event.