I'm working a role at the moment where the person we want isn't doing the job yet.
Third time I've had to go and find this person. When Platform First arrived I was looking for product people who could sell a tool. When passive came to market I needed people who could teach a market why it mattered, not just sell it. Now here we are again.
What's changed this time is who the client is. Neobanks, digital platforms, even a price comparison site, selling investments to people who never had an adviser. Monzo started selling BlackRock funds in 2023, a pound to get in. JP Morgan bought Nutmeg and last year put its own name over the door. MoneySuperMarket launched its investment platform in July. Home insurance and a stocks and shares ISA in the same sitting.
None of that was waiting for a rule change. The traditional route to the retail investor was shrinking, so the product went where the customers were.
Targeted support arriving in April is what made it urgent. Around 9% of adults took regulated advice on their pensions or investments last year, the FCA's own figure, quoted the day it announced the regime. The other 91% are the whole point.
So a side conversation at this client is now a team going up around it. What they're worried about is the people.
More people could do this than used to. The market is more open and consultative selling has come a long way. My job is working out which of them makes that client conversation transition quickest, and does it properly.
The technology has been there a while. The access is the new part.