Defining Broken Transfers: How should the advice sector handle insistent clients?

Summer series continues

Hannah Godfrey
clock • 13 min read

If all advisers avoid insistent transfer clients and deny them what they want, then there goes a theory that eventually their fate will end up in the hands of those more unscrupulous. So, how does the advice sector as a whole deal with these determined clients?

Insistent clients are big business in the world of defined benefit (DB) transfer advice. So big, in fact, some 9,534 insistent clients were transferred out of DB schemes between April 2015 and September 2018. That data from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) means insistent clients were involved in about one-in-eight (13%) of all those who transferred. What is more, these insistent client cases came from 620 firms - or 25% of all advice businesses that have advised on DB transfers since pension freedoms. That said, anecdotal evidence suggests facilitating insistent client transfers is becoming...

To continue reading this article...

Join Professional Adviser for free

  • Unlimited access to real-time news, industry insights and market intelligence
  • Stay ahead of the curve with spotlights on emerging trends and technologies
  • Receive breaking news stories straight to your inbox in the daily newsletters
  • Make smart business decisions with the latest developments in regulation, investing retirement and protection
  • Members-only access to the editor’s weekly Friday commentary
  • Be the first to hear about our events and awards programmes

Join

 

Already a Professional Adviser member?

Login

More on Your profession

Next gen group takes on young adviser shortage

Next gen group takes on young adviser shortage

Hollee Vivian launches initiative with adviser peers

Isabel Baxter
clock 15 September 2026 • 4 min read
News editor's view: The advice profession is getting bigger, but is it getting better?

News editor's view: The advice profession is getting bigger, but is it getting better?

The news editor's Friday Night Takeaway from 11 September

Isabel Baxter
clock 11 September 2026 • 3 min read
Feel Good Friday: Rosemount renews mental health partnership for advisers

Feel Good Friday: Rosemount renews mental health partnership for advisers

Supporting The Global Returns Project, Grief Encounter, FoodCycle and Verve Foundation

Professional Adviser
clock 11 September 2026 • 1 min read