“The new financial consultancy/The operational implications and business opportunities brought by the Retail Investment Strategy” arrives, the new book by Maurizio Primanni and Massimo Scolari
Give rise to informed investors, push them to invest their savings in financial products and company equity, make them protagonists of the growth and development of the EU, catch up with what is happening in the UK and USA capital markets. This is the objective of the Retail Investment Strategy, the proposal of the European Commission, adopted on 23 May, which will have to be approved in the coming months by the European Parliament and Council, which changes, integrates and further expands the contents of Mifid I (2007) and Mifid II (2018).
In all bookstores and online stores from 10 November 2023, the volume “La nuova consulenza finanziaria/Le Implicazioni operative e le opportunità di business apportate dalla Retail Investment Strategy” (Guerini Next, 2023, pages 224, €20.00) , written by Maurizio Prianni and Massimo Scolari, two long-standing experts in financial consultancy, is a handbook: a tool aimed at financial consultants, bank managers, insurance agents and asset managers in the banking, insurance and managed savings. The goal: make the most of the new package of rules that will concern the industry of production and distribution of managed savings products, both from a practical point of view and from a business opportunity point of view (each chapter is enriched by a reflection on the implications operational and business aspects of each of the sections of the new legislation). Again in detail on the topic: from the market scenario that will emerge in the future, to the question of incentives (which after much controversy, also amplified by the media, were banned only for operations under the execution only regime), to the introduction of innovative elements to be followed, such as the best interest test of financial consultancy proposals and the value for money test that must be followed by factories in the preparation of new investment and investment products -insurance, from transparency to the concepts of appropriateness and adequacy, to marketing up to the training of financial advisors.
“The new regulation – states Maurizio Primanni, founder and president of the Gruppo Excellence, specialized in management consultancy, artificial intelligence applications and digital innovation – will make the entire managed savings industry grow in Europe, will contribute to increasing the level of financial maturity of customers, will ultimately improve the competence and professionalism profile of financial advisors, who will have to complete an annual mandatory training course. We wanted to offer an operational, practical and pragmatic tool, so that all the actors involved immediately equip themselves for managing the new rules. We believe that they, although not definitive and subject to approval by the Council and the EU Parliament, nevertheless have the potential to represent a paradigm shift in the wealth management business model: from the introduction of the best interest test in financial consultancy, to the strengthening of the transparency criteria, an area in which references to the Mifid 2 regulations are heard and which includes new obligations for the industry where it requires the consultant to provide not only the most convenient product in terms of cost, but also exclude those accessory elements that are not necessary to achieve the best result for the customer and consequently make it more expensive.”
“We decided to write this essay – declares Massimo Scolari, president of Ascofind, Association for independent financial consultancy – because we believe that the Retail Investment Strategy expresses an important turning point from a regulatory point of view with the introduction of new elements not foreseen by Mifid such as the best interest test and the value for money test. We have tried to give a practical slant: every aspect of the new regulation is treated both in terms of how it overlaps, modifies and integrates Mifid 1 and Mifid 2, and to explain the organizational and operational implications on the business models of producers, distributors and financial consultants, as well as to stimulate reflection on the new business possibilities deriving from the new legislation.”
“La nuova consulenza finanziaria/Le Implicazioni operative e le opportunità di business apportate dalla Retail Investment Strategy” is available for pre-order on online platforms and in bookstores.
