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What should FT Adviser be writing about before the Budget?

Journalist: Simoney Kyriakou, FT Adviser

ended 27. October 2025

Trade papers like FT Adviser write hundreds of stories a week - but we want to hear from our readers and communities - what do you think we should be covering? 

What is getting under your skin that is just not getting the attention you believe it deserves? 

Are letters of authority still a bugbear?

Are platforms still not delivering the efficiencies you need?

Are providers not responding to your clients' requests?

Let us know at FT Adviser so that we can get our award-winning team on the case! 

(And just in case you didn't know, we won the PFS Financial Title of the Year again yesterday). 

We look forward to hearing from you - we'd love to hear responses by Monday morning.

7 responses from the Newspage community

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Daniel Hobbs
CEO at New Leaf Distribution
One of the biggest issues we face is the completion of switching pension funds to a new provider.

It can takes months for the old provider to complete the transfer and it is very frustrating.

The adviser has done all of the work including the suitability report and all applications and paperwork with the client, only for the old pension provider to hold up the process.

It’s an affront to consumer duty, and for some of these providers, it’s a clear tactic to either keep the monies invested for as long as possibly with them, or to delay long enough that the client loses interest in following through with the advice.

Happy to provide specific examples and name the providers that are a problem.
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Scott Gallacher
Director at Rowley Turton
Provider delays remain a huge problem. It's difficult to provide a prompt efficient service to clients when providers can quote 46 or even 90 day working day turnarounds on things like bond assignments.

Also, they need to look into online exams. We've had two staff experience issues last week with online exams. Our apprenticeship paraplanner was completely unable to access their first, RO1, exam which resulted it lots of stress and a wasted day. As a result, he has now booked to take it in person at a dedicated test centre.

Seperately, a paraplanner had issues with one of her LIBF exams. Do we know how many people have issues taking their online exams.
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Chris Barry
Director at Thomas Legal
Conveyancing is getting worse. Stock levels are at a decade high right now and if the chancellor announces any kind of incentive to spark buyer interest it will put tremendous pressure on the legal system which they simply won’t be able to cope with… 1) Large conveyancing firms going bust 2) Recruitment getting harder 3) Extra layers of due diligence delaying the process 4) Rising staff and PII costs 5) Building Safety Act still causing delays We need to fix conveyancing of the country stands any kind of chance of meeting is housing target
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David Stirling
Independent Financial Adviser at Mint Wealth
The letter of authority process to get information from life and investment providers is cumbersome, time-consuming, erratic and frustrating. We can all understand that the providers don't put their best staff in these departments, as they are giving info usually to be moved to a new provider. However the barriers and deflections add weeks and sometimes months onto a process that is already very time-consuming. Perhaps a standardising of the process across the providers would be useful - Origo have gone some way to try this - but one that all the providers must buy into.

GP reports and the turnaround times on these is often ridiculously long also. Clients are frequently left waiting months to get a response from their GP in order to get accepted, or not, for protection. GPs do not seem to see the seriousness of delaying this process should a client suffer a death, critical illness or require an income protection claim in the interim.
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Michelle Lawson
Director at Lawson Financial
Downvaluations in the BTL sector particularly. Lenders need a better way to appeal even if they assess in house for worthiness. We need a singular universal way of portfolio assessment for portfolio landlords. Each lender has a different firm and a different way and keeping in top of it can be a nightmare. SLA’s changing which means they are goalposts and not agreements. Leasehold flats are also a huge problem with the service charges increasing quite significantly making them unattractive as an investment and deeming them unsaleable.
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Antonia Medlicott
Founder & MD at Investing Insiders
The relevancy of the Cash ISA if Rachel Reeves goes ahead with a cut to the annual allowance. With most people able to put more than £33k into an ordinary savings account right now (assuming they're receiving an interest rate of 3%) and keep it protected from tax via their PSA, will the Cash ISA cease to become the number one priority for people? And if interest rates fall further, that amount people can put away before tax is due on the interest is even larger. We've created a calculator to help people work out how much they can save for their tax band, before they reach the limit of their PSA. https://investinginsiders.co.uk/personal-savings-allowance-calculator
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Patricia McGirr
Founder at Repossession Rescue Network
1/ Letters of Authority: Every lender has different wording, different format, different rules. Some still want a wet signature. Others reject forms or letters that aren’t their own. For clients in time-critical situations, this isn’t a small inconvenience. It’s the difference between progress and paralysis.

2/ Downvaluations: There's a lack of speed, independence or transparency in the appeals process, especially for investors on bridging. Many are left stuck without an exit when using 6 month refinance rules. Whilst lenders rely on valuations to determine risk and terms, we're seeing some significant differences over a short term, leaving borrowers out on a limb and facing penalty charges.

3/ Repossession Practices: I did an article in FT Adviser last year on debt and mental health, but we've not seen any major shift in how lenders handle arrears. What are lenders doing to explore alternatives to their 'tried and tested' enforcement processes?