"Our partnership with MorganAsh provides advisers with a robust two-stage vulnerability evaluation framework."
- Martin Grimwood, Consumer Duty Lead at FWD Research
Under the Consumer Duty, firms are required to assess customers to better understand vulnerable characteristics and how to proactively support them. Research conducted by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) states that 50% of customers are vulnerable at any one time, but advisers don’t know which and when.
FWD Research focuses on specialist surveys across firms’ customer bases to help them understand the prevalence of vulnerability. This aligns with MorganAsh’s Resilience System (MARS) which provides an objective and consistent method for assessing and monitoring vulnerability. Alongside real-time management information & reporting, MARS generates a resilience rating, similar to credit scores.
Recognising the importance of consistent data when assessing customer vulnerability, FWD Research and MorganAsh have decided to partner with their complementary approaches to support firms in delivering accurate and relevant management information. The FCA has already encouraged firms to prioritise this information in board reports as it will be vital in determining a firm’s compliance with the rules.
“It’s really exciting to be joining forces with FWD Research to use two complementary approaches towards customer vulnerability in a unified way. Both approaches have their own strengths and each works well with the other,” said Andrew Gething, Managing Director at MorganAsh. He explained that this partnership underscores how MorganAsh’s expertise in customer vulnerability management & software compliments FWD Research’s capabilities in running customer outcomes and vulnerability surveys.
“Working together, we can provide comprehensive solutions to financial services firms to meet regulatory requirements – and better serve their customers,” Andrew added.
Martin Grimwood, Consumer Duty Lead at FWD Research, said: “By combining two different but complementary approaches, the framework ensures that advisers can identify how prevalent different vulnerabilities are within a customer base, develop appropriate strategies, and then apply those strategies operationally to customers who need them most.”
