Do financial advisers really need a code of ethics?
Image Credit Paul Downey The British public don't exactly hold the financial services sector in high esteem these days, if they ever did. From personal experience I would say that most of the vitriol is directed at the upper echelons of the banking sector rather than at financial advisers like myself. One of the side effects of the regulatory reform that the industry has gone through is that financial adviser are now almost all members of one of the two main professional bodies. Financial advice is a constantly evolving sector where it is important that an adviser maintain his or her knowledge through continuing professional development (CPD). We have always done this but following regulatory changes we now have to have this audited and a Statement of Professional Standing (SPS) issued annually or risk de-authorisation. The most cost effective way to meet this requirement is to join a professional body and so most advisers have. And these bodies as a condition of memb