For financial services companies, successful marketing requires a careful balance between strong, distinctive messaging and the need for compliance, transparency and trust.

As your business grows, you’ll want the flexibility to evolve your brand narrative, adapting to changing market conditions, targeting new audience segments and introducing new products. You’ll want to be agile, but you also want to guard against alienating your existing loyal client base or making promises you can’t deliver.

One of the most critical decisions you’ll make is the choice of marketing and brand partners.

We’ve recently considered the role of online finance influencers – so-called finfluencers – and the mixed quality of the advice they offer.

While enforcement of dubious online advice is uneven, but that should not be a recipe for complacency: regulators are cracking down, and the reputational damage of partnering with influencers who give misleading or poor-quality information can be significant.

Avoiding own goals

Of course, partnership is a two-way street, as is clearly illustrated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority recent warning to football clubs about engaging in sponsorship deals with unauthorised financial firms.

In a letter to football clubs, the regulator said they “have seen an increase in football club partnerships with unauthorised firms, some of which appear to be operating unlawfully. Such arrangements risk conferring legitimacy on these firms and may expose UK consumers to harm.”

While the regulator’s warning is directed at clubs and investors, the implications for brokers and financial services firms are clear. As oversight tightens and expectations rise, counterparties will face increasing pressure to demonstrate that appropriate due diligence has been carried out.

For brokers, this means more than simply ensuring internal compliance. It requires a clear understanding of FCA guidance, or that of relevant regulators in other jurisdictions, and the ability to evidence this to prospective partners.

In short, it’s not sufficient to be compliant, you need to be able to demonstrate compliance.

Do you want a tailored liquidity solution that can help your business stand out in a competitive and high regulated market? Get in touch with Finalto to learn more about how we partner with our clients to help deliver sustainable growth. 

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