Financial Products Management and Governance

Since MiFID II implementation, regulators have exposed serious weaknesses in the way some financial services firms approach product design and governance. They have urged businesses to introduce rigorous stress testing to prove the value of products, and to give clearer information to the customer about the risks involved.

Consumer protection and market integrity are two of the regulators chief concerns, so firms must listen to their customers’ needs more than ever. This isn’t about complaint resolution. It’s about taking a proactive approach to ensuring your customers get the best deal, right from the start.

Regulators are clamping down on poor product policies. Firms will need to prove that their products respond to real consumer needs and are designed to meet their long-term requirements.

Failure to comply could result in the restriction of product features, a block on the promotion of certain products or an outright ban (with serious reputational and commercial repercussions).

Through this workshop professionals and their firms will understand how to truly place their customer at the heart of their product policies and develop the framework that allows them to prove to the regulator that they did so.

Training Objectives

By the end of the programme, participants will be able to:

• Attain the latest ESMA and CySEC updates on this issue
• Through case studies, identify the risks of an informal and unstructured approach to product management
• Learn what information should be considered when making product decisions
• Appreciate the importance of involving consumers in the process
• Identify the risks and controls that any framework should encompass
• Establish a governance framework for key decisions
• Understand the responsibilities of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd levels of defence in product management
• Learn how to involve affected stakeholders and convince them to take action

Training Outline

The focus on product management 

• An overview of the regulator’s thinking
• The goals of the ESMA and CySEC
• Good or poor practice? Identifying indicators
• Case study: Review a firm’s approach to product management and the steps required to comply

The key elements of a product management process

• An overview of the product development process
• The life stages of a product
• Highlighting key steps, from new product development to withdrawal
• How to evidence the fair treatment of customers
• Exercise: Understanding the risks and controls in a product management process

Using customer research to evidence fairness 

• Types of customer research
• Which research areas should be informed by customer behaviour?
• When is research valuable from a risk control perspective?
• Using examples to recognise when customer input is ignored

A governance framework around products

• Making sure the audit trail is fool proof
• Understanding when escalation is needed
• Case study exercise: Examine the brief and decide at which stage board approval is needed

The roles of compliance, risk and audit in the product management process

• Clarifying the roles of the first, second and third lines of defence
• Involvement in new product development
• Product monitoring activity
• What are the key areas of complaint, persistency and declined claims?
• How to structure reports for different audiences
• Case study: Identifying the responsibilities of each party and deciding what action to take

How to sell the process to the business

• The reputational and financial risks
• The impact of CySEC demands and enforcement actions
• How to demonstrate the upside of a framework
• Working with others to achieve compliance

Training Style

The programme is designed to deliver knowledge and enhance participants’ skills via case-studies and practical examples, and participants will benefit from customised feedback at the end of the programme and take away knowhow that can be transferred to their workplace.

The course shall include the presentation and analysis of the regulatory framework providing practical examples.

Who Should Attend

The programme will benefit those who need to know and understand the Product Governance Regulatory framework and will be of particular benefit to:

• Product Development Staff and Technical specialists involved in product development
• Compliance Officers and Staff
• Sales, Marketing and Business Development Executives and Staff
• Customer Relations and Customer Service Staff
• Risk Managers
• Internal Lawyers
• External Lawyers
• Traders
• Financial Consultants
• Any person who provides investment services