Overview

The retail investments and pensions sector is at the centre of the FCA’s focus. The regulator has set out the important role the sector plays in helping consumers manage, buy, and safeguard their assets to meet their financial goals. The sector provides critical support to consumers in periods of economic uncertainty and holds a crucial role in enabling consumers and the UK as a whole to meet their sustainability objectives.

Advisory meeting in financial services

Square 4 works across all areas of the distribution chain, including product manufacturers, investment managers, financial advisers, and platforms. This includes firms with specialist permissions such as to provide pension transfer or discretionary investment services. The top issues currently facing the sector where Square 4 support include:

• Consumer Duty
• Advice suitability
• ESG and SDR
• Proposition development and migration
• Governance, MI and reporting
• Client Assets
• Regulatory due diligence
• Complaints – RCA and operational effectiveness reviews
• Remediation and redress
• Later life lending

Our expertise

At Square 4 Partners, we are more than just a consultancy – we are a collective force of accomplished experts, dedicated to advancing and transforming the retail investments & pensions sector.

With decades of experience across roles at the FCA, in-house compliance functions, and a variety of consultancy firms, our teams really have ‘been there and done it’. We harness in-depth knowledge and understanding of the regulatory and operational challenges facing firms to develop and implement practical solutions specific to each firms’ business model.

Case Studies

Retained compliance support to a retail advice firm, undertaking monitoring and testing aligned to their Compliance Monitoring Plan

Scenario: A retail advice firm sought our support to strengthen its second-line...

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Retained compliance support to a retail advice firm, undertaking monitoring and testing aligned to their Compliance Monitoring Plan
Case Studies

Supporting a Savings Provider With Customer Service Operatives

Scenario:  Due to an increase in Bank of England base rate interest rates observed...

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Supporting a Savings Provider With Customer Service Operatives
Case Studies

Product Governance in a Consumer Duty World

‘A firm must act to deliver good outcomes for retail customers’ – a...

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Product Governance in a Consumer Duty World
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Meet the Sector Leads:

Simon Goryl

Simon Goryl

Advisory Director

Simon is the Advisory Director at Square 4 and supports firms across financial services with...

Sara Haworth

Sara Haworth

Senior Consultant

Sara currently supports advisory engagements across the financial services spectrum on a range of...

Nicky Green

Nicky Green

Advisory Director

Nicky is an Advisory Director at Square 4 with over 16 years financial services regulatory...

Paul Scott

Paul Scott

Managing Director

Paul is a proven leader of business, people and in managing high profile regulatory issues. Paul...

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