Insights

Broking Business: Winter 2020/21

read timeRead time: 19 mins
Welcome to our latest issue of Broking Business. None of us could have imagined a year ago where we would be today as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Intermediaries have generally coped well but the FCA is predicting many firms will be under stress in 2021. Operational and financial resilience will be more important than ever.

Tax is never far from the agenda. Tax Partner, Howard Jones summarises recent changes that Brokers and MGAs should be looking out for, that have taken, or will take, effect (and in some cases, won’t!). As I write, a Budget announcement is on the horizon. Head of Tax, Chris Riley looks into his crystal ball and makes some predictions on the next round of tax changes.

We also include a reminder of the contents of the Dear CEO letter issued last September following the FCA’s concerns about the handling of client money, and our views on what it means in practice.

Finally, we take a look at how Covid has affected the M&A market which, after a short lull in March and April 2020, bounced back with a flurry of deals made public at the end of 2020. As 2021 gets underway, we can’t see any sign of slowdown. We hope you find this edition useful. As always, we are keen to hear your views and suggestions for future articles.