Independent financial planning firm, Colmore Partners, has reinforced its commitment to meeting the needs of people in vulnerable circumstances by supporting a new national charter.

The Birmingham-based company has added its signature to the Financial Vulnerability Charter, which promotes the fair treatment of clients by firms in the personal finance sector.

An independent set of standards, the charter underpins the work of the newly created representative body, the Financial Vulnerability Taskforce.

It seeks to be an informed source of positive influence on policy makers, professionals and the general public alike, by promoting greater understanding, encouraging appropriate behaviours and establishing good practice in respect of consumer vulnerability.

Simon Hoult, Director and Head of Proposition at Colmore Partners, said that the charter would increasingly enable professionals in the personal finance sector to be seen as a “safe pair of hands”.

He said: “We recognise that many of the clients we work with are, to some extent, vulnerable when making financial decisions. The Financial Vulnerability Charter is a timely opportunity for our profession to change public perception through the way in which we  deal with people in such circumstances.

“While the focus in the industry is now very much pointed in this direction, we have always done our best to support the needs of clients that are experiencing vulnerable characteristics and instil this into our culture and values. This also chimes with the vulnerability aspect of the Consumer Duty, which we wholeheartedly support, and have already implemented changes in our business processes to reflect.

“We believe that our business has an obligation to maintain the highest possible standards, which means that every decision we make is done so in the best long-term interests of our clients. In addition to our commitment to the charter, we have also appointed one of our paraplanners as a vulnerability champion, which will further enhance the training and development of our advisors and help shape the way we advise our portfolio of clients.”

Colmore Partners is an employee-owned consultancy, founded in 2020 by Richard Meek and Wendy Fellows. Based at the Grade II* Imperial and Whitehall offices at The Grand Hotel Birmingham, the firm has more than £400 million of client assets under advice.

CAPTION: Simon Hoult, Director and Head of Proposition at Colmore Partners.

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