The conversation around the Conduct of Financial Institutions Bill (COFI) has largely centred on regulation, compliance and conduct requirements. While these are important considerations, they do not tell the whole story.
Perhaps the more important question for advisors is:
How confident am I that my practice is equipped for the future that COFI is helping to shape?
If you are part of Succession Financial Planning, we believe you are already well positioned for many of the changes COFI introduces because SFP has been building the capabilities needed for a changing advice environment.
SFP was built on the belief that successful advice businesses need more than product access and compliance support. They need a partner that helps them build sustainable practices, deliver strong client outcomes and access capabilities that are difficult to develop alone.
This includes access to governance support, practice development expertise, specialist resources and operational capabilities that advisors can leverage as their businesses grow.
Around the world, conduct-focused regulation has changed the way advice businesses operate. In markets such as the United Kingdom, increased emphasis on client outcomes, governance, oversight and accountability led many advisors to seek the support of advisory networks and dealership-style structures.
While South Africa will follow its own path and COFI’s implementation will be more gradual, the underlying principle remains the same: regulators are increasingly focused on the outcomes clients experience, not simply whether a process was followed correctly.
This is where the value of a dealership becomes increasingly apparent.
At SFP, we see this shift as more than a regulatory development. It reflects a broader evolution in professional advice, where advisors increasingly need the right combination of independence, support, expertise and business-building capability, from practice development support and collaboration with specialist expertise, to deliver consistent client outcomes and sustainable growth.
For us, business-building extends beyond compliance. It includes helping advisors strengthen their market presence through the credibility of a recognised brand, being part of a community of like-minded professionals and creating more sustainable businesses through diversified income opportunities.
The Industry Is Shifting from Compliance to Outcomes
Historically, advice relevance was often measured by whether an advice file was compliant and whether regulatory processes had been followed correctly. Under COFI, the focus shifts beyond the advice file to the entire client journey.
Advisors will increasingly need to demonstrate that clients:
Understood the products they purchased.
Received solutions appropriate to their needs.
Experienced value from products and services.
Were treated fairly throughout their relationship with the advisor.
Achieved the outcomes that the advice process was intended to deliver.
Every stage of the client journey matters.
For many advisors, this creates a familiar challenge: balancing the demands of regulation, client service and business growth while still finding time to do what they do best: advise clients.
Client Journey and Key Conduct Considerations
Marketing and lead generation Is communication fair, balanced and not misleading?
Initial engagement Does the client understand the relationship and services provided?
Needs analysis Has sufficient information been gathered to understand the client’s circumstances?
Advice process Is the recommendation suitable and appropriate?
Product implementation Does the client understand the benefits, costs, risks and limitations?
Ongoing servicing Are changing circumstances identified and addressed?
Product replacements Can the replacement be justified as being in the client’s best interests?
Claims support Is the client treated fairly during difficult moments?
Complaints management Are root causes identified and addressed?
This requires more than technical compliance. It requires businesses that can monitor, manage and evidence good client outcomes consistently.
Increasingly, this requires technology and automated advice processes that improve consistency, enhance oversight and reduce administrative complexity across the client journey.
The New Conduct Indicators
COFI also introduces greater focus on management information and conduct indicators.
What may previously have been viewed as operational statistics can increasingly become indicators of conduct risk and, inherently, future business risk.
Access to meaningful management information and data-driven insights about the advisor’s practice will therefore become increasingly important when making better business decisions.
The FSCA will use various reporting and supervisory tools, including the OMNI-Risk Return, Integrated Regulatory Solutions (IRS) and automated risk models, to monitor risk and client outcomes across the industry.
Client Outcome Indicators and Potential Conduct Concerns
High lapse rates Affordability or suitability concerns.
High cancellation rates Poor client understanding.
Frequent complaints Weaknesses in advice or service.
Ombud determinations Advice quality concerns.
High replacement activity Possible replacement concerns.
Repudiated claims complaints Weak understanding of product features and limitations.
The question of the future will no longer simply be:
“Are we compliant?”
It will increasingly become:
“How do we know our clients are achieving the outcomes we intended?”
Simply put, poor client outcomes can become business risk.
Why the Dealership Model Matters
As these expectations increase, so does the need for stronger governance, oversight and support structures.
Many independent businesses find themselves needing access to:
Compliance expertise.
Conduct risk management.
Governance frameworks.
Reporting and monitoring capabilities.
Commission administration and payroll support.
Data analysis and management information.
Specialist training and guidance.
Regulatory support.
The reality is that building and maintaining these capabilities independently can be expensive, time-consuming and distracting from the activities that drive client value and business growth.
This is precisely why dealership models have become increasingly relevant in conduct-focused environments.
At SFP, we view this support as far more than a compliance function. In practice, this means supporting advisors across multiple dimensions of their businesses, from governance and conduct oversight to practice development, operational support and professional development.
SFP’s commitment is to help advisors build stronger businesses through governance, operational support, practice development, specialist expertise and a framework that allows them to focus on what matters most: delivering advice and building lasting client relationships.
Just as importantly, it allows advisors to spend less time building infrastructure and more time building their businesses. As client expectations, regulatory requirements and the complexity of advice continue to grow, the ability to access shared capabilities and specialist support becomes a meaningful competitive advantage.
Independence and Support: The Best of Both Worlds
One of the misconceptions about dealership models is that they require advisors to sacrifice independence.
The reality is quite the opposite.
The right dealership should strengthen an advisor’s ability to operate independently by providing the support infrastructure needed to succeed in a more complex environment.
Importantly, advisors can continue to offer clients best-of-breed solutions from a range of product providers while benefiting from dealership support.
The Relationship Can Be Viewed as Follows
Advisor responsibility: Providing appropriate advice Dealership support: Conduct monitoring and oversight.
Advisor responsibility: Building client relationships Dealership support: Governance and compliance support.
Advisor responsibility: Understanding client needs Dealership support: Training, guidance and policy frameworks.
Advisor responsibility: Delivering fair client outcomes Dealership support: Reporting, analysis and risk management.
Advisor responsibility: Ongoing client service Dealership support: Monitoring complaints, trends and conduct risks.
Within SFP, this support extends beyond oversight and governance. Advisors benefit from access to a broader community of professionals, specialist resources, brand credibility and business-building support designed to help practices grow, evolve and remain relevant in a changing market. This creates an environment where advisors can focus not only on meeting expectations, but also on building stronger businesses, deeper client relationships and lasting value for future generations of clients. Succession Financial Planning believes independence is most valuable when it is supported by the scale, expertise and infrastructure needed to compete effectively. This allows advisors to remain the trusted face to the client while benefiting from institutional-grade support behind the scenes.
Why Our Advisors Made a Good Choice
Long before COFI became a reality, Succession Financial Planning was built on the belief that advisors achieve more when they have access to the right support, governance and business-building resources.
SFP recognised that the future success of advice practices would depend on more than technical expertise. It would require access to the right people, resources and opportunities to help advisors build sustainable and valuable businesses.
It would also depend on helping advisors build businesses with long-term value, including confidence that succession and continuity can be effectively managed when the time comes.
The direction of COFI does not change that belief. If anything, it reinforces it.
SFP’s strategy has never been to respond reactively to regulatory change. The focus has been to build a business that helps advisors grow sustainable, client-centric practices.
As regulation evolves, many of the capabilities advisors will need are capabilities we have already invested in as part of our long-term vision for advisor success.
The Capabilities at the Heart of a Strong Dealership
The capabilities that advisors increasingly need under COFI are the capabilities that sit at the heart of a strong dealership like SFP:
Shared governance and oversight.
Compliance and conduct support, including professional indemnity-related support.
Practice development and business growth capability, inclusive of diversified income streams and a broader client value proposition.
Access to specialist expertise and technical guidance.
Operational and servicing support.
Professional development, coaching and learning opportunities.
Monitoring of client outcomes.
Shared infrastructure and scale benefits.
This is why we believe your decision to partner with SFP is a strategically important one.
You do not have to choose between independence and support.
You do not have to sacrifice product choice to access governance and expertise.
You do not have to build every capability on your own.
Instead, you are part of a business intentionally positioning itself and its advisors for a future where strong client outcomes, strong governance and strong businesses go hand in hand.
Final Thought
As the industry advances toward COFI, SFP stands apart as a business that has already invested in many of the capabilities, infrastructure and support frameworks required for the future legislative landscape.
More importantly, these investments were never made simply to meet regulatory requirements. They were made because SFP believes advisors deserve the support, expertise and resources needed to build sustainable businesses that create better client outcomes.
This belief sits at the heart of the SFP story.
SFP was established on the principle that advisors can achieve more when they are supported by a business committed to their growth while still retaining the independence to serve clients in the way they believe is best.
SFP’s role is to provide the foundations that help advisors build successful and enduring practices: governance, specialist expertise, business support, professional development, practice development resources and a community of like-minded professionals who share a commitment to advice excellence.
For advisors who are already part of SFP, this provides confidence that their business is positioned for the future.
For those considering joining SFP, it offers the opportunity to build a practice on a foundation designed for long-term success.
That is why we believe SFP is more than a dealership.
It is a partner in building enduring advice businesses and helping advisors create successful futures for themselves, their clients and the communities they serve.