Regulatory issues and compliance are the main headaches for CEOs working in financial advice and wealth management, according to a survey by trade body PIMFA.

PIMFA’s annual CEO Sentiment Research Report found that regulation, implementation and compliance, came up as the top three issues for CEOs - as they did last year.

PIMFA said that CEOs from within its membership were worried about the amount of time required to “manage regulation.”

As regulation changes with the arrival of MiFID and SM&CR (the new Senior Manager’s regime), compliance was “no longer” just the responsibility of those who work in the compliance department. CEOs said they saw compliance as increasingly a job for everyone within their firms.

The survey found that for the coming 12 months CEOs will focus on key areas including:

• 40% said the Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SM&CR), Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II) and issues with the Financial Ombudsman Service were their top three regulatory concerns.
• 47% stated that business growth was a key focus for them. Almost half were planning on growing their business by developing deeper relationships with existing clients, attracting new clients and acquisition and consolidation. Winning new business, corporate expansion, stability and enhancing their overall strategy also figured strongly (the next issue of Financial Planning Today magazine in mid-September will feature a special report on Business Growth for Financial Planning firms)
• CEOs also stated that tech systems, staffing and recruitment and costs and “efficiencies” would be a key focus with 30% citing these issues. Many plan to invest more in cyber security.

Gary Sunderland, head of research at PIMFA, said: “The CEO Sentiment Survey gives a great insight into the minds of the people running the wealth management and financial advice firms in the UK, and at such a precarious time, as Brexit approaches, it is always beneficial to know how others in the industry are navigating market volatility, political landscape and regulatory environment.”

The CEO Sentiment Research Series was launched in 2016. Some 36 member CEOs responded to the latest survey earlier this year.