"We need actual guidelines rather than individual lender and network preferences"
A number of brokers have been reporting issues when trying to give advice from overseas, saying that some banks and networks require them to be in the UK to be able to do so.
Citing compliance and legal reasons, several banks are reportedly not allowing access to their systems too if the broker is abroad, even through a VPN.
“The rules in place currently are so frustrating,” commented Katy Eatenton, mortgage and protection specialist at Lifetime Wealth Management. “When the world is gearing up towards remote working, not being able to work when you’re on holiday or moving overseas for a couple of months of the year is extremely annoying, not to mention inconvenient.
“Where you are located in the world doesn’t affect the advice that you give to your clients, and the fact that some networks allow it and some don’t means there’s no hard and fast rule. We need actual guidelines rather than individual preferences, dependent on individual lenders and networks.”
Benjamin Blyth, director at Houz Mortgages, added that while others are prevented from giving advice away from UK soil, there are some big brokers out there that are doing it, with offices overseas.
“So, there must be a way for business to be done that the regulator accepts,” he said.
“No contract is ever really with the broker, it’s between lender and borrower, so is the middleman’s location really of importance? Not allowing advice from overseas is out of sync with the world, and a way of allowing it should be agreed upon, in my opinion.”
Justin Moy, managing director at EHF Mortgages, pointed out that this is ultimately about where a contract is deemed to be executed.
“UK legislation and financials would need to be executed on UK soil, or else, the contract would probably come under the jurisdiction of the country in which it originated,” Moy explained.
“I am sure we have all done a little bit on holiday, and that would be lost in the mix, but if it is a long-term change, say a change in where you live overseas, that would be more of an issue. But I believe this has always been the case.”
Scott Taylor-Barr, financial adviser at Carl Summers Financial Services, said this issue that has been bubbling for a while and needs to be addressed properly at some point.
“I don’t think the rule around adviser and client being on UK soil at the point advice is given in itself is wrong,” he stated. “Otherwise, we would have all sorts of issues if UK registered firms were suddenly using overseas call centres to transact business in the UK, but the actual business was on the other side of the world and well away from the watchful gaze, and occasional teeth, of the regulator.
“However, in a sector that is dominated by individual practitioners, many of whom are self-employed, it does create issues around holidays abroad. While that may seem minor, in a more remote working world, it limits advisers’ ability to travel, so should be addressed in some way, or it could ultimately limit the profession’s appeal to new entrants.”
For David Robinson, co-founder at Wildcat Law, the answer is actually very simple, but so many banks and networks like to complicate it.
“The snappily titled PERG 2.4.3 provides the steer,” he said. “It is entirely possible and compliant to provide advice to a UK client while sat on a beach or in a bar on top of a mountain in another country, as long as the business you work for is a UK one and the regulated activity is a UK one.
“However, there is a real risk that some countries have very stringent rules about investment advice being provided from their territory. No-one wants to be the one to test if this applies to remote workers it seems.
“There are a multitude of reasons that organisations actually perpetuate this myth, one being they don’t want workers to work flexibly while sat on a beach in the Bahamas with a pina colada in one hand, and a laptop in the other.”
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