Choosing a Service Provider
To ensure a secure and profitable future, you need support from someone you can trust, someone who can offer you the experience and expertise you need. To help you make the right choice, the FSA has published a series of questions to consider when appointing a service provider.
Here, we have taken a few of those questions and given our honest answers, which we hope will further support our credentials and help to make your decision a little easier. If you wish to view the full list of questions from the FSA, visit their website here› Our full list of answers is available on request from the Andover Office
Experience and qualifications of the consultant
Do they have the necessary experience to assist you and your type of firm?
As a service provider, which is part of the Tenet Group, our Business Advisers have the backing of over 20 years experience in the ever changing Financial Services Industry.
What is their financial services experience?
Our Business Advisers have extensive financial services experience with an average of 19 years each in the industry. Coupled with the backing of the Tenet group – this is unrivalled in the industry.
What is their regulatory experience?
Our team of business advisers have an average of over 8 years specific regulatory experience each and as a group, we have been providing regulatory support for almost 20 and indeed we were the first support service provider for Directly Authorised advisers.
Which associations or trade bodies are they members of?
Our Business Advisers are members of such associations as the Personal Finance Society and the Chartered Insurance Institute. As a company we are also a member of AIFA.
Services provided by the consultant
What type and level of service do you need?
Between your Regional Business Manager and ourselves, we will agree and implement a level of service appropriate to your firm. Our extensive service range is detailed in our literature and on our website.
Have you asked for, and will you enter into, a service level agreement (SLA)?
This is detailed in the Terms of Appointment, under section 2. Services.
Have you ensured that the SLA details the work that will be undertaken?
The SLA, outlined in the Terms of Appointment, details the standard of service you can expect. The services you will receive will be outlined in the application form.
Will you and the consultant ensure that the SLA is reviewed and remains 'fit for purpose'?
One of the key responsibilities of our Client Development Manager, is to ensure regular reviews of the SLA through a regular contact programme.
What are their charges?
Our standard service is available at 3% of turnover, capped at £600 per month. However, we are also able to offer a bespoke pricing structure and service where appropriate.
How many firms does the consultant work for?
As a service provider, we look after over 200 firms which range from small local IFA’s, to National IFA’s and Building Societies and as part of the Tenet Group, we look after over 5,500 advisers nationwide.
Do they have sufficient resources or might they be overstretched?
We have a large and experienced team. In addition, being part of the Tenet Group means that we have extensive additional resource and financial stability.
What are their back-up arrangements for holidays etc?
There is sufficient contingency cover provided by compliance personnel without adversely affecting service standards.
References
Have you reviewed their professional integrity, reputation, skills and competence?
We are one of the longest established support providers and we hope that this document goes some way to assuring you of our credentials. Naturally we would be happy to provide you with any further information you need.
Have you asked for a list of clients and taken references?
Due to our data protection obligations we are unable to supply you with a full client list, we do have references from our clients that you can read here. If necessary, we are able to put you in contact with a client firm to discuss their experience of our services.
Have you compared them to any other consultants?
It is your business and hence your choice and we are confident that our breadth of experience and support far surpasses our competitors.
Do they/will they add value?
At Tenet Support Services, we believe it is crucial that we can and do get the basics right and deliver to all of our customers a first class compliance support service to provide protection and peace of mind against the ever increasing regulatory burden.
However, for us this is only the beginning. Being a part of the Tenet Group means that we can offer our clients much more than just compliance support…
- Award winning marketing
toolkit
Providing you with all the tools you need to develop your own website, stationery, brochures, newsletters and promotional material. We also provide you with access to our online bank of pre approved promotional material
- Tied and tested Wrap business
model
Includes templated client agreements and access to our invaluable, and simple to use, online client risk profiling tool, asset allocation calculator and model portfolio creation tools
- Access to our market leading commission rates
- Access to our business development and training workshops
- Heavily discounted rates on commonly used industry software packages
- Access to our pension transfer and annuity bureaux
- Access to our research panels and helpdesk
- The ability to use our Mortgage, General Insurance and Pure Protection solutions, panels and enhanced commission rates
- A competitive Professional Indemnity Insurance policy
We truly believe that none of our competitors can offer you this level of added value.
Has any regulated firm they have worked for ever been subject to any action by the FSA?
Not to our knowledge.
Does the consultant have Professional Indemnity Insurance and is it sufficient?
Yes we have sufficient Professional Indemnity cover.