New competition in the digital investing market

There has been a spike in trading activity by self-directed investors over the last 15 months and we’ve seen the arrival of a new cohort of first-time investors who are attracted to some of the higher risk options. US tech stocks, cryptocurrency and CFDs have all been...

Rethinking client money

Client money rules are potentially the most frightening for firms and can involve really substantial fines. However, custody arrangements at platforms and wealth managers have often evolved organically, especially where firms have grown through mergers or...

We’re going to need a bigger brand

The company formally known as Standard Life is selling the name, but this isn’t a total surprise given that 200 years of brand awareness had been diluted by mixing in Aberdeen. How to retain some of the positive associations of a brand recognised widely in the UK,...