One in seven (15%) independent financial advisors (IFAs) have stated that they are still unclear about advising clients on good customer outcomes, an Opinium survey has found.

With the Consumer Duty deadline just a week away, Opinium has found that 61% of IFAs have said that they are somewhat clear about what good customer outcomes look like, with 25% saying they are very clear.

However, the majority of IFAs (70%) have said that the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has been unclear in their role in the implementation of the consumer duty regulations, with 66% saying that the regulator has been unhelpful, and 62% saying they have been unresponsive.

Furthermore, 54% have said that the FCA has been unreasonable in the process of developing and implementing new consumer duty regulation.

The survey also found that there was increased concern among IFAs about the potential implications that they may face, as the FCA has warned that it will act much quicker and more assertively to challenge firms who do not meet the consumer duty requirements. Almost half (48%) of those surveyed by Opinium said that they are now more concerned about the risk of complaints, investigation or penalties on their practice, with 10% feeling much more concerned.

In a separate survey, Opinium found that less than a quarter (23%) of UK adults have heard of the consumer duty, with 12% admitting they still don’t know what it is. However, 72% said that they have never heard of consumer duty, although awareness is greater among those who receive financial advice, with almost three in five (58%) saying they had heard of it.

Head of financial services research at Opinium, Alexa Nightingale, said: “Consumer Duty affects all financial services firms, many of which will be required to make major changes to adhere to the new rules. This will of course have an impact on IFAs and their practices. With the deadline approaching in a week’s time, it’s therefore worrying that 15% of IFAs don’t feel clear about advising clients on what good customer outcomes look like, with a more substantial number being concerned about the potential ramifications they could face.

“Feedback on the FCA’s role has not been glowing so far, so it will be interesting to see how the first few weeks of the duty play out, and whether the FCA can paint itself in a more positive light among the adviser community.”

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