The Intermediary – August 2026 - Flipbook - Page 21
Q&A
It reinforces the need for ongoing partnership
too, because firms need tools, training and MI to
evidence good outcomes consistently, not treat
the Duty as a one-off project.
The best advisers have always focused on good
customer outcomes; Consumer Duty has simply
encouraged firms to evidence and deliver them.
Do you see AI making a difference?
The biggest opportunity comes from augmenting
advisers: speeding up routine work, improving
consistency, and freeing them to focus on clients.
For PMS, the opportunity is to help firms adopt
technology with confidence. My advice is to start
with a business problem, not a tool.
They don’t need to wait for an AI-specific
rulebook – Consumer Duty and existing
governance already give firms a strong basis for
testing AI in a controlled way. But the guardrails
matter: firms need to understand what a tool
is doing, what data it uses, and where human
oversight sits.
AI can process information, but it cannot carry
responsibility for a recommendation. Advice isn’t
just about finding an answer; it’s using experience
to apply judgement to a client’s full circumstances
and standing behind that advice.
The adviser’s value lies in spotting what isn’t
obvious from the data, such as vulnerability,
competing priorities, and the emotional weight
behind a decision. Many mortgage and protection
decisions happen around major life events, and
those moments need empath
empathy and judgement.
Technology can present op
options, but it can’t
weigh up what’s affor
ordable today, sustainable
tomorrow, or what a client would regret not
putting in place. The futur
future isn’t AI versus advisers:
it’s using AI to give adviser
advisers more capacity for the
uniquely human work.
PMS is 30 – what has chang
changed for
clubs and advisers in that time?
Lender access is now the minimum eexpectation,
not the differentiator
erentiator. Today’s clubs need to help
firms run better businesses, thr
through technology,
training, data, complianc
compliance support and commercial
insight, helping adviser
advisers become more productive
and broaden their client cconversations.
Advice has become significantly more
professional and sophisticated. R
Regulation has
raised standards, and customer expectations have
increased dramaticall
dramatically.
transf
Technology has transformed
how advice is
delivered – but not wh
why it matters.
The biggest change is probably that advisers
have evolved from transaction specialists into
trusted, long-term financial partners.
PMS has evolved from lender access into
long-term partnership, adapting as client needs,
regulation and technology have changed around it.
Competition is fierce, but PMS has helped
advisers grow. Year-to-date mortgage cases
completed and lending are both up over 20% yearon-year, and protection written is up 12%. 2026 is
on track to be our strongest in the past five years.
Our strategy is focused on staying close
to advisers, improving productivity through
technology and data tools, and helping firms
diversify into protection and broader advice.
Importantly, we take a long-term perspective
rather than reacting to short-term cycles – which
is central to being a Proactive Partner for Life, not
just a route to market.
What will define the next chapter
for advisers?
Advisers are becoming increasingly valuable as
affordability grows more complicated. Greater
lender innovation is creating more options
for different customer groups, and significant
remortgage activity continues to generate
opportunities. Protection conversations matter
even more when household finances are under
pressure, and there’s a clear wealth opportunity
too, since affordability pressure often exposes
wider financial vulnerability. Advisers who build
ongoing relationships rather than support one-off
transactions will be best placed to grow.
Customer expectations will be the biggest driver
– technology and regulation are really responses
to changing customer needs. Younger clients
are already researching online, through social
media and increasingly AI, before they speak to an
adviser, so firms need to be visible digitally while
still proving the value of professional advice.
The future belongs to businesses that are
efficient without losing the personal touch.
What is next for PMS?
We’re continuing to invest in helping advisers
become more productive, with a further focus
on technology that integrates seamlessly into
adviser workflows, and on supporting firms
to broaden conversations across mortgages,
protection and wealth. PMS continues to be a
Proactive Partner for Life, helping firms start,
run, grow and exit successful businesses as
the advice market grows more complex.
August 2026 | The Intermediary
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