FCA Guidance Consultation (GC14/3)
In an effort to avoid offending fans of any other literary greats (and quite possibly the FCA), I’ll keep to the point this time. I’ll even resist the urge to draw one last parallel between Jane Austen’s Emma (which while often considered Austen’s most accomplished work, is distinguished by the fact that nothing of note […]
Miss Woodhouse demands (more accessible and useful disclosure documents)
In Jane Austen’s Emma, during the rather bad-tempered picnic to Box Hill, mischief-making Frank Churchill addresses the assembled party. He asserts that Miss Emma Woodhouse wishes to be entertained and so demands from each of them ‘one thing very clever! or two things moderately clever; or three things very dull indeed.’ Mr Frank Churchill’s highly […]
How to buy magic beans
Recently I’ve found myself looking at D2C platforms. Partly for work stuff and partly because of a nagging feeling that I really ought to be investing in a share class other than Mulberry bags. While actually looking at the direct to aspect.  I’ve been thinking about the consumers. People who are approaching D2C platforms (and their websites specifically) […]
PS13/1 The Annual Review
Although the new platform rules given to us by PS13/1 (Payments to platform service providers and cash rebates from providers to consumers, to give it its full name) only came into force on 6 April, they have been a part of the financial services landscape for a year (or near enough for a blog title […]
Pension and platform transfer research: the lang cat needs YOU!
It’s a funny old industry we operate in. You’re sat at your desk; eating lunch and listening to the budget speech; mainly to see how much wine is going up by; and then! well, we were all there. There’s been a lot of discussion about the impact of Budget 2014 on various aspects of the […]
The duck test
Ducks are straightforward creatures and there is very little confusion or debate involved in whether or not you have seen one. Such is this clarity of recognition that ducks have become a benchmark in establishing confidence in the identification of other items. What may not be so familiar (for the moment at least) is the […]
PS13/1 – calling all advisers
It’s been a week since we launched our first ever white/yellow and grey paper, It’s all about you: Tackling your PS13/1 due diligence requirements’ and it’s fair to say that we’ve been bowled over by the response. There’s been a lot of tweeting and some press activity which is great but the thing that really […]
It’s all about you…and PS13/1
Mention a song title and a tune or lyrics will instantly spring to your mind. For you, it’s the most natural thing in the world. But perception differs. The song I think of might be quite different to the one you think of. Such is the nature of consciousness. You can’t fight it. The lang […]
Whiskers on kittens
Having seen out my first week in my new home at the lang cat I decided to take some time to reflect upon the experience to date. That and the fact that I was locked out of the office meant that there wasn’t much else to be getting on with for a while. Much has […]
