Advice in an age of change: Clients, technology and the firm of the future

In this IIL financial planning webinar, Dominic McLoughney charts his journey from reluctant recruit at his family's firm to leading a Chartered financial planning business, sharing what two decades of accelerating change in financial services can teach anyone building a career in the profession.

Dominic McLoughney joined his parents' financial services firm at 23, shortly after a departing business partner had walked out with much of its client bank. What began as a rescue mission became a career: Chartered Financial Planner at 28, Fellow of the Personal Finance Society, Chartered Financial Planner of the Year in 2025, and today Director of a group spanning Becketts FS, Becketts Connect and Becketts Wealth.

In this webinar, Dominic sets that story against the backdrop of a profession transformed, from the commission-led sales culture of the 2000s, through the shift to fee-based advice and the RDR, to today's world of Consumer Duty and AI. The pace of change keeps increasing, and Dominic argues that broad skills, deep qualifications and genuine client relationships are the surest hedge against it. Along the way, he shares candid lessons from the front line: a first client meeting that went as badly as one can, managing an old-school legacy team as a self-described ‘baby-faced kid’, how the firm utilises AI to make itself leaner, and what changes and what doesn't —when you step back from advising clients to lead the firm.

Learning objectives: 

• Understand how the financial planning profession has evolved, from commission-led sales to fee-based, Chartered, technology-enabled advice, and how firms can stay ahead of the accelerating pace of change

• Recognise why professional qualifications, broad skills and Chartered status remain the strongest competitive advantage for an individual adviser

• Identify practical approaches to building a modern advice firm: focusing on client outcomes, growing repeat and referral business, adopting AI selectively, and managing the transition from adviser to business leader

Chair: Alina Paula Burlacu, Director, AB Personal Performance Coaching

Booking information:

You will be sent a confirmation email shortly after booking. If you have not received this within one hour, please contact Patricia Pedraza (020 7397 3911).

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