The UK government has announced a pilot grant funding programme that will provide targeted support to UK professional and business services regulators to make recognition arrangements on professional qualifications.
The programme will support regulators and professional bodies negotiating recognition arrangements by providing funding for additional technical expertise.
The government said that it “will allow UK businesses and professionals to seize opportunities overseas and boost the appeal of UK qualifications”.
The announcement follows the introduction of the Professional Qualifications Bill to Parliament last month. The legislation removes an outdated system for recognising professional qualifications from overseas in the UK, establishing a new approach based on regulator autonomy and supports for UK professionals to deliver services overseas.
The bill supports regulators to pursue arrangements with counterparts in other countries in the interests of their professions.
Boost trade
International Adviser contacted different players in the industry to see how much this programme will impact the advice sector.
Kevin More, director of global business development at the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI) said: ‘We very much welcome this initiative. It should make life easier for both customers and advisers. Customers will not necessarily have to change advisers if they choose to change location, and properly qualified advisers will not be faced with having to requalify if either they or their clients want to operate outside the UK.
“Government support – and funding – aimed at breaking down the barrier presented by qualification requirements will help individuals and businesses compete internationally, and I am sure will be welcomed by many financial planners and wealth managers.”
Tim Fassam, director of government relations and policy at the Personal Investment Management & Financial Advice Association (Pimfa), said: “It is currently unclear the extent to which these proposals effect financial services qualifications.
“While any effort to increase the recognition of UK qualifications overseas is to be welcomed, it is no replacement for agreements on market access and regulatory permissions, which are critical if our industry is going to boost its trade overseas.”
Reaching out to EU
The programme is looking at the UK’s global reach, something it has had to think about after Brexit.
But industry players in the European advice space do not believe that this programme is about equivalence with the EU.
Paul Stanfield, chief executive of Federation of European Independent Financial Advisers (Feifa), said: “In general terms, this seems like an excellent initiative that will assist many UK individuals and businesses. I would like to think that this might include UK financial advisers, in terms of them assisting clients in the EU, but I have to say I am sceptical of the success that can be achieved in that area, particularly in the short, or perhaps even medium, term.
“The European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) have done nothing to assist clients based in the EU who wish to carry on being advised by a UK adviser, and the national regulators of the member states have not done much more – unlike the FCA, which has mitigated a great deal of potential client detriment through structures such as the TPR and SRO.
“Given the attitude that has pervaded on the continent so far, post-Brexit, it seems unlikely to me that these regulators will quickly or easily accept UK qualifications; let’s face it, that is effectively ‘equivalence’, something that the EU as a whole and member states individually, seem to be very averse to in financial services.”
James Pearcy-Caldwell, chief executive of Aisa Group, said: “I can only imagine this to be a positive initiative for UK advisers, and for advisers with qualification from countries that wish to have co-operation with the UK.
“This clearly does not target the EU for those reasons. It is a ‘global Britain’ initiative. It will impact overseas advisers who hold qualifications in the countries where co-operation on services is agreed. It is not going to benefit existing overseas UK advisers who do not hold overseas qualifications, and it will not be a new way of providing passported services in the EU, or from the EU.”
Global strategy
One of the regions that could benefit from this programme is the Middle East.
Gaenor Jones, regional director of the Middle East for the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII), added: “Any support for UK advisers overseas will be welcomed.
“These actions all help raise the profile of the insurance sector and the need to have correctly qualified advisers giving advice to increase trust in the sector.”
The CII told IA that it has been working with the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) to help government understand the importance of professional qualifications in insurance and personal finance and why mutual recognition is vital.
The professional body also said: “The scale of mutual recognition is something we cannot meet on our own and so this is a vital step towards the support that regulators and professional bodies will need, in order to create adequate recognition systems across different regulatory landscapes.”
