Four in 10 (42%) advisers are not aware of the digital tools that can help automatically evidence Consumer Duty compliance, new research from Dorsum suggests.
According to the research, which polled 109 advice businesses on their attitude towards technology and compliance, only half (56%) of advisers use technology to help them evidence and comply with Consumer Duty.
The findings come as the Financial Conduct Authority continues its supervision exercise into Consumer Duty, which has already resulted in several investigations into firms.
However, Dorsum said attitudes towards compliance technology were “cautiously optimistic”, with 58% of advisers agreeing that technology can reliably support Consumer Duty compliance, compared to 10% who disagreed.
The digital portal provider said that overall, advisers want to use technology alongside human expertise. Nearly three quarters (73%) said they would prefer to use it alongside a compliance professional, rather than as a replacement.
Hannah Buckle, head of UK sales at Dorsum, said: “Consumer Duty has placed a greater burden on financial advisers to prove and evidence things like value for money and consumer understanding. Most firms see it as a compliance challenge, when really, it’s a technology challenge.
“We know advisers are stretched for time. Technology firms should be helping advisers to remain compliant by generating a timestamped, system-generated audit trail. The FCA is not going to prescribe exactly how firms evidence their obligations, but firms with clear, organised and consistent data will have significantly easier conversations with the regulator than those without.”
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