cherry forum reveals most talked about topics in 2023
28 November 2023
Consumer Duty, attracting new business on social media and how brokers’ business levels were holding up were three of the most talked about topics this year on the cherryplc.co.uk Adviser Forum.
cherry’s popular industry forum, which attracted more than 35,000 unique visitors across the first 11 months of 2023 has detailed some of the most active threads during that period.
Unsurprisingly, the big regulatory change of 2023 dominated a number of different forum threads throughout the year. The lead up to the introduction of Consumer Duty on 31 July saw brokers expressing their fears and frustrations with the new regime, including differing interpretations of the FCA’s requirements.
There was much debate as to whether documentation that brokers would give to clients would change, hugely relevant being the main regulatory topic on the forums post 31 July, which concerned requirements around vulnerability. Many advisers expressed their concerns that there may well be unintended consequences of the FCA’s views over vulnerability, and that the intermediary community may feel forced to avoid anyone they think could be classed as vulnerable from a fear of falling foul of the new regulatory regime.
With the FCA already taking action against providers whom they judge to not be reaching the standards required by Consumer Duty, the topic looks set to remain a popular one in the forums throughout 2024.
Another popular topic (in terms of views) on the cherry forum related to the subject of attracting new business on LinkedIn. There was continued debate on cherry about the merits of using social media for business development purposes. Throughout the year, advisers who were Appointed Representatives (ARs) expressed their annoyance about their networks not allowing them to write social media posts without them being approved by the compliance department – often with a wait time of two to three days!
The emergence of TikTok and whether it was a valid channel to pursue new business was discussed repeatedly, with those brokers who were comfortable with creating videos being, unsurprisingly, much more willing to try TikTok out.
Jeff Knight, Director at Mortgage Marketing Forum, advises brokers who are using social media to be disciplined in their approach. He says: “Social media is an important channel; however, like anything it has to be used well. There must be a purpose behind using it rather than simply creating posts.
“But for me where it adds real value is that brokers can listen. They can follow clients online and comment on their posts. In essence, social is important but more so to engage in rather than use to blast messages.”
Meanwhile, brokers were repeatedly using cherry to discuss business volumes with their peers and garner views on the future. With the cost-of-living crisis, high inflation, rising interest rates and pressures of mortgage affordability, many advisers reported business volumes down year-on-year. However, with the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee holding the Base Rate for the past two months, there are signs that we may be over the worst and some brokers are optimistic about business levels for next year.
Donna Hopton, Director at cherry, said: “More and more intermediaries have chosen to use the cherry forum throughout 2023, with visitor numbers up 6% year-on-year and total visits up by 2.5%. More importantly, users are becoming more involved, with the number of new threads created nearly 11% higher this year than in 2022.
“Users consider the cherry forum to be a safe space where they can discuss topics with their industry colleagues. With 2024 set to be a critical year for brokers looking to increase business volumes, I’m confident the forum will continue to grow accordingly.”
