Ethical marketing in financial services: The continuing importance of fiduciary responsibility

Abstract

For some time now, the media spotlight has been focused sharply on the financial services sector. The financial services industry has a situation where the previously unquestioned ethical behavior of financial services organizations has been questioned and, not surprisingly, this has had repercussions for consumers who may well feel they can no longer rely on the advice they receive from their financial advisers. The government has directed its attention towards addressing the problem through the establishment of the Financial Services Authority and the introduction of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 and, in both cases, protection of the consumer and regulation of the provider's behavior are a priority. There was considerable support for the conclusion that the extent to which the provider meets their fiduciary responsibility continues to be important to the financial services consumer.