FAQ’s

Firms involved in or around the Finanical Services regulated sector.

TheGIC’s main client services are focussed on financial advisory, mortgage advisory and general insurance advisory or broking firms including any combination of these. Other clients are needing advice on how to deal with the FCA regulated sectors such as firms who are not in finanical services, but who want to supply that profession. Many of our services are aimed at small independent businesses, however, TheGIC can and does provide services for large institutions, running compliance projects or supporting senior managers with compliance responsibilities.

As TheGIC offers bespoke services, it’s easiest just to make contact and describe what you want. If TheGIC can’t do it an introduction can probably be made to someone who can!  This is a service for a service industry so service is a key watchword!

The GIC aims to work with compliance officers and is not there to compete with them or show them up!

Taking on TheGIConsultant is not intended to put your compliance officer out of work nor to put their ‘nose’ out of joint!  Compliance officers often feel lonely in their role when the rest of the company is doing productive things their tasks are often viewed as unhelpful. TheGIC is here to help them to get the messages across and to implement their strategies in the most painless and productive way for the rest of the workforce.

It is always better to have support and two heads are better than one. No compliance officer wants to risk falling foul of the regulations and there is no shame in asking for help on this as it’s a tricky issue and very much open to interpretation.

Many compliance officers have more than one role within their firm. Getting support with the compliance responsibilities frees them up to do the rest of their work, whether it’s running the business, the accounts or advising clients. TheGIC can organise compliance much more quickly because it is core business, your compliance officer may well be an accomplished account executive, financial planner or operating officer who could make much more money dealing with clients.

TheGIC aims to help you in the areas that you need help.

Services provided are many and varied, but always based on what you want to achieve. Certainty regarding how you are to be fully compliant is one of the main benefits arising when TheGIC prepares your application for authorisation or completes a compliance audit. The job specification is to make things easy for you, to translate complex rules into plain English and help you generate more business whilst understanding and meeting regulatory requirements.

Chartered, FCII qualified, holding a Certificate in Regulated Customer Care, financial planning exams and with many years industry experience.

TheGIConsultant has been in the industry since 1981, most lattery having 18 years broking plus compliance experience including having been the compliance director of a firm dealing in general insurance, mortgages and financial services. A  full Curriculum Vitae and due diligence pack is available on request. As well as experience, TheGIConsultant is well connected within the industry and has access to many useful ancillary services having set up a business and been in a business there are many practical areas outside the usual remit of compliance consultancy that can be shared. Karen Malin regularly attends seminars around financial planning,  insurance and mortgage matters to keep up to speed with market developments and does her own continuing professional develpment including industry specific reading and spotting on the FCA web-site!

TheGIC can call on support from a team of professionals with expertise in specialist areas such as paraplanning, equity release, pension transfers and opt-outs.

Services start from as little as £75. Ongoing services from £20 per month. You pay for what you want at a pre-agreed price or pricing structure.

TheGIConsultant aims to give great value for money.  Services are reasonably priced and you are not tied in with a contract. The cost of work is always agreed in advance so that there can be no nasty surprises. Low overheads and efficient use of  IT enable TheGIConsultant to be extremely competitive.

You can pay monthly or pay as you go for all of our services instead on an annual contract, you can spread both the cost and the discussions!

Most importantly, there are no strings. If you don’t need services anymore or you don’t like them, you can just stop.

Independent, wide ranging and bespoke!

No two firms are the same so why should they want the same things from business support? Unusually TheGIConsultant deals with the full range of financial services advice which includes both general insurance broking and financial planning. Note that most financial planners are also authorised for general insurance and undertake to provide protection products to clients. Many financial advisory firms also include mortgages advice in their remit and permissions, here you get one consultant who can talk about all of these disciplines.

TheGIC won’t lay a bewildering array of templates on you and leave you to get on with it.

Your business success and development is a priority. This is a ‘can do’ business, if there is a way, we will find it together!