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In Divide and Conquer, we looked at the theme of creative tension and whether just making us all get along with each other would really make things better…
In Divide and Conquer, we looked at the theme of creative tension and whether just making us all get along with each other would really make things better…
What was Divide and Conquer about?
It’s satisfying to moan about how the various actors in the sector – the regulator, providers and planners – don’t work well enough together, and about how that harms outcomes, and about how things should be harmonious and that would help.
We’re not so sure.
Creative tension can be good, if it’s harnessed in the same direction. Not every part of the chain involved in creating something needs to be harmoniously aligned as long as there are checks and balances involved.
In our intermediated world, the industry puts together things it thinks planners want to use with customers, and the regulator oversees both bits. Most of the time we generally assume this works tolerably well, or at least isn’t broken enough to worry too much about, and we rely on the invisible hand of the market to sort things out. But does that really stand the test of scrutiny?
Consumer Duty highlighted the necessity of everyone working together in the interests of better client outcomes, but that doesn’t mean everyone should be in each other’s pockets. In Divide and Conquer, then, we looked at the theme of creative tension and whether just making us all get along with each other – be nice to your sister! – would really make things better. We looked at when things get out of balance – as they have done at times with platforms – and whether vertical integration, where that tension is arguably completely removed – is delivering better outcomes. We looked at the power balance between planners, the industry and the regulator and asked awkward questions when necessary, and never, ever took things at face value.
We’ve said before that the entire sector is engaged in rearranging itself to acknowledge that planners now have the power the industry once had and so we finished the day with tales from the front line, hearing from planners directly about how they dealt with creative tension and still created amazing experiences for clients.
Before all that – and before lunch – there was also a focus session, aimed at planners but open to everyone, which was the World Premiere of our famous State of the Advice Nation annual adviser survey. This is year seven, meaning we had plenty of trends to track. We looked at three of the key themes the survey highlights, and shared some interesting data.
Business sessions finished at 5pm; we had a drink in the venue and then went over the road to the Lighterman for the afterparty.
This event qualified for 4 hours of unstructured CPD.
THE PRACTICALITIES
The date to mark in your calendars was Thursday 6 February.
Thanks to the generosity of our sponsors, tickets were free for advice professionals working at an advice firm; so advisers, planners, paraplanners, compliance and admin fill your boots (if you work for a huge provider with an advice offshoot you only qualify if you’re in an advice-giving or paraplanning role).
Everyone else was asked to buy tickets at a cost of £100 plus VAT.
11am
Welcome to SOTAN Wave 7 – Your lang cat hosts
11.10am
Theme 1: Consumer Duty and client outcomes – Zara Okoro, PFS Paraplanners Panel, Samantha Gratton, Ellis Davies FP
11.30am
Theme 2: Positioning your IFA business between advice and planning. And client outcomes – Roddy Munro, Quilter, Victor Sacks, VS Associates, Dan Wiltshire, Wiltshire Wealth
11.50am Theme 3: consolidation. And client outc…you get it – James Wallis, Aristotle Financial Planning, Peter Coleman, Kingswood
12:15 LUNCH
1.15pm
Instructions For The Day… -Your lang cat hosts
1.50pm
Divide and conquer: the tribes are massing, feat. remarks from Sara Woodroffe, FCA plus Verona Kenny, abrdn and Amanda Mayes, Magus Wealth
2.45pm BREAK
3.20pm
Divide and conquer 2: when the balance is disturbed feat. Platforms Are Dead, 10 years on and a fireside chat with Steven Levin, CEO, Quilter
4.20pm
Divide and conquer 3: navigating division and still keeping clients at the heart – Caroline Stuart, Sparrow Paraplanning, Pete Matthew, Meaningful Money and Jacksons, Philippa Hann, Paradigm Norton
5pm
Conquering division – close – Your lang cat hosts
5.15PM DRINKS + SNACKS
6.15PM AFTERPARTY AT THE LIGHTERMAN
Amanda took on the operations director role at Magus Wealth in 2023 after having joined the firm in 2018. She is responsible for overseeing all operational aspects of the business with a key focus on business management, client experience and people – balancing strategic oversight with operational delivery. Outside of work Amanda is a passionate runner and parkrun event ambassador.
Caroline has been in paraplanning for over 22 years, starting Sparrow Paraplanning in 2019. She also runs Sparrow Solutions, providing operational, L&D, training and mentoring support to paraplanners and financial planners. Caroline is a Chartered Member of CISI, an Accredited Paraplanner and has won a number of paraplanning awards. She was the first paraplanner to be President of the Personal Finance Society, and led their Paraplanner Panel for six years.
Daniel trained and worked as an actuary - developing insurance and investment products - before switching careers in 2019 and setting up Wiltshire Wealth. He has since become an advocate for those starting their own financial planning businesses and believes that small, independent firms are increasingly well placed to provide an excellent service. Away from work, Daniel enjoys spending time with his young family, reading, and occasionally jogging along the canals around Bradford on Avon.
James joined the profession in 2010 and spent a decade working at a regional independent advice firm before taking the leap to launch his own financial planning business. In 2020, James launched Aristotle Financial Planning and is building a boutique financial planning firm working with owner/managed business owners and individuals who are within 5 years of making the transition into retirement. When James isn’t busy at work he is busy at home with his three young daughters.
In 2010, Pete started messing around with a video camera and started a YouTube channel called Meaningful Money which nobody watched. Switching to podcasting in 2012 was the turning point as Meaningful Money became one of the most popular personal finance shows in the country. Now, with over 500 videos and nearly 600 podcast episodes, Meaningful Money is consumed by hundreds of thousands of consumers each month and drives a firehose of new enquiries to Jacksons.
Peter was appointed as Kingswood’s chief executive in January 2025, having held the role on an interim basis since July. He has a huge amount of experience across a range of executive leadership roles, including as CEO, CCO and CFO, and in particular extensive experience of wealth management and advice technology from his time with Succession Wealth and Wealth Wizards and as CEO of national IFA Positive Solutions.
Ex-lawyer Philippa spent 20 years specialising in financial services litigation. In 2024 she left the law to experience a world outside of measuring her life in six-minute units which led her to a role with the No 1 professional services collaboration platform RQ and to write a book about the psychology of financial scandals (which will be published in late-2025). Excitingly, she will take over as CEO for Paradigm Norton Financial Planning in April 2025 (subject to regulatory approval).
Roddy has over 30 years’ experience of supporting financial advice businesses with technical financial planning. Roddy is head of Technical Sales at Quilter, leading a strong team that supports advisers in complex areas of retirement, taxation, and trust planning. The role of the team is to stand in the adviser’s corner and help them demystify complex or unusual details and ensure good results for clients and their families.
Samantha is a multiple award-winning Chartered Financial Planner and Fellow of the Personal Finance Society, providing comprehensive and unbiased holistic Financial Planning. With nearly 15 years’ experience in the profession, Samantha has a passion for empowering individuals and championing women in finance, frequently speaking on the themes of personal branding and resilience and drawing on her own lived experiences to support others to build impactful and visible careers.
Sara is the Head of Department for our Consumer Investments Market Policy and Analysis Department (MAP). She leads our work on Advice Guidance Boundary Review (for retail investments) and Consumer Composite investments. Sara started her career as a supervisor in Consumer Investments and has undertaken a range of management roles, taking in the FCA’s response to challenges from increases in the cost of living, the response to the Covid-19 crisis and has led the FCA’s sustainable finance, mortgage, and credit policy teams.
Steven Levin has extensive industry knowledge from roles in asset management, investments, platform, and distribution. He joined the Group in 1998, became part of the Executive Committee in 2011, and Group CEO in 2022. Steven has led key strategic initiatives, including transforming Quilter’s platform and developing its proposition. His leadership has been instrumental in driving strategic delivery and growth for the business.
Verona Kenny joined abrdn Adviser as Chief Distribution Officer in Q4 2024. Verona has over 25 years of experience in financial services, she previously held the role of Managing Director, Intermediary at 7IM and prior to that as Marketing and Proposition Director at Cofunds. Before to coming to the UK from her native Australia Verona worked on the launch of the first true Wrap platform in the Australian market. Known for her leadership and innovative approach, Verona has been instrumental in driving growth and transformation within the companies she has worked for. Verona is passionate about driving diversity and inclusion in the financial services industry and is active in many associations and forums to advance this.
Victor is a multi award winning Independent Financial Adviser, working with Business owners. He prides himself on using ears and mouth in the proportions they were received.
Zara is a senior paraplanner with seven years’ financial services experience and is passionate about shaping the future of the profession. A champion of innovation and financial planning excellence, she’s committed to driving meaningful industry change. With a keen interest in financial literacy and transparency, Zara is an advocate for evolving the role of paraplanning in advice and raising the profile of paraplanners, encouraging greater collaboration to deliver more holistic, client-focused solutions.
We provided the research for a report, in conjunction with Parmenion, which reveals how far short of expectations many adviser platforms are falling. The research found that over the last 12 months, 88% of advisers needed to apologise to at least one of their clients on behalf of a platform, and that poor service delivery from platforms impacts 91% of advisers every day.
We provided the research for a report, in conjunction with Parmenion, which reveals how far short of expectations many adviser platforms are falling. The research found that over the last 12 months, 88% of advisers needed to apologise to at least one of their clients on behalf of a platform, and that poor service delivery from platforms impacts 91% of advisers every day.
Service means a lot of things to a lot of different people. It’s so subjective it can be hard to put your finger on. This paper aims to challenge the status quo and inertia that’s built up in the sector for many years.
