PIMFA and Eversheds Sutherland launch economic abuse guidance for advisers

The Personal Investment Management & Financial Advice Association (PIMFA) and Eversheds Sutherland have published guidance to help wealth managers and financial advisers protect clients from financial control.

The guidance aims to support advisers and wealth managers with identifying, responding to, and preventing economic abuse.

It looks to give firms a practical framework for supporting clients who could be experiencing financial control or coercion.

PIMFA noted that while economic abuse was present in an estimated 95 per cent of domestic abuse cases, it remained one of the most overlooked forms of harm across financial services.

Analysis from Surviving Economic Abuse and Ipsos UK found that one in seven UK women experienced economic abuse from a current or former partner in a single year.

Almost half of those who experienced financial control did not recognise their experience as abuse.

The association argued that wealth managers and advisers were often well placed to spot the signs of financial abuse due the sector’s relationship-based model.

With no single rulebook to inform firms how to respond to economic abuse, market practice was inconsistent.

The guidance therefore aims to give firms a clear, practical, and proportionate framework that fits within existing business structures.

It includes explanations of how abuse presents itself; a summary of the legal and regulatory landscape; guidance on strategy, culture, and governance; advice on identifying abuse; case studies; and recommended adjustments.

The guidance emphasises that firms are not expected to investigate abuse, but rather to support clients, avoid further harm, and connect people with specialist help.

It also stressed that high net worth offered no protection, and complex wealth structures can, in some instances, create more sophisticated opportunities for control.

"Economic abuse is one of the most common and most overlooked forms of harm, and it can affect any client whatever their wealth and financial circumstances,” said PIMFA head of regulatory policy and compliance, Alex Roberts.

“For our sector this goes to the heart of whether a firm is genuinely delivering good outcomes for its clients.

"Advisers are often the people best placed to notice when something is wrong or when circumstances shift, perhaps a change in who is making the financial decisions, or in how a client engages with their own money.

“But many tell us they are unsure how to respond. This guidance is about giving firms the confidence to act.

“It sets out what economic abuse looks like in a wealth context and how to support clients safely, without a firm having to step into the role of investigator."

Eversheds Sutherland partner, Gareth Vowles, added: "Economic abuse can be difficult to identify because it often sits behind otherwise legitimate financial arrangements, family relationships and decision-making structures.

“For firms, the challenge is understanding when ordinary financial interactions may be masking a wider risk to a client's financial autonomy and wellbeing.

"This guidance helps translate a complex legal and regulatory landscape into practical, proportionate steps that firms can take within their existing frameworks.

“Our aim has been to help advisers navigate these situations with greater certainty, while remaining focused on delivering good client outcomes and respecting individual choice."

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