Transparency and rights
What you're entitled to see and ask.
Disclosed is not the same as understood
Plain language is not the removal of nuance. The sentence to complete, and the three requests that turn a disclosure into a decision you can actually make.
1 min readOne product, several companies: who does what
Advisor, FSP, platform, asset manager, DFM, insurer, regulator, ombud. Which one holds your money, which one makes each decision, and who to contact when something goes wrong.
1 min readAn incentive is not wrong, but it has to be visible
Commission, asset-based fees, referral payments, ownership links. The questions that turn a conflict disclosure into something you can actually weigh.
1 min readAuthorisation is a baseline, not a ranking
How to check an FSP and representative on the FSCA register, what that result actually proves, and the one thing it can never tell you.
1 min readA complaint starts as a record, not a phone call
What happened, when, who was involved and what remedy you want. How to build the record first, and why a regulator and an ombud are not the same route.
1 min readClient rights protect the process, not the outcome
You are entitled to know who is advising you, what is recommended, why it may suit you and what it costs. What those rights cover, and what they cannot promise.
1 min readPaid visibility is not an endorsement
The standard Simvida holds itself to: what is education, what is data, what is an advisor relationship, what is paid, and where the limits are.
1 min readOwning your data means little without the features
What is stored, where it came from, who can see it, how an error gets corrected and what happens when access ends. The questions behind the slogan.
1 min readNo real institution needs to stop you checking
The account under attack, the family member in danger, the offer that expires today. One test separates a real urgent process from a scam, and one sentence buys you time.
1 min readLeaving the advice and leaving the product are two decisions
Ending an advice mandate can stop a fee while the investment stays exactly where it is. What to obtain before you give an irreversible instruction.
1 min readAn advisor marketplace is a shortlist, not a league table
A profile can compare scope, fees and experience. It cannot tell you who is best. How to use a marketplace to build a shortlist you then test yourself.
1 min readA report is not a finding
The client's account, the firm's response, the documentary evidence and the conclusion of a body with authority to decide. Four different things, often reported as one.