Paula Whitehead

Experience

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  Royal London

  Jan 1988 - Jan 1996

  Branch Superintendent Enfield
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  David Nathan Associates

  Jan 1996 - Jan 2000

  • Financial Adviser / Administration Manager

    Jan 1998 - Jan 2000

  • Financial Administrator

    Jan 1996 - Jan 1998
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  David Nathan Associates

  Oct 2000 - Sept 2017

  Compliance Manager & Financial Advisor

  Leading Financial Services and Financial Advisor firm looking after over 15,000 Private and Corporate clients.Ensure and drive compliance incl. all relevant policies, processes, FCA, and regulatory requirementsManage the firm´s relationship with the regulator incl. handling periodic returns to the FCAReview files and assess the suitability of financial advice givenProduce detailed financial and compliance reports incl. filing with regulatory agenciesDrive and conduct periodic internal reviews and audits, incl. Platform and Product due diligenceIdentify and investigate compliance issues incl. complaints against advisersManage a team of finance professionals, incl. performance, recruitment, allocation, training, and coachingProvide specialist unbiased financial planning and money management to clientsRecommend the most appropriate products and services to meet client goals and objectivesEnsure clients have a complete understanding of the product features and risksResearch the market to maintain knowledge of financial products and servicesConduct in-depth reviews of client´s financial circumstances incl. risk analysisDrive sales of products and services and negotiate best rates with product suppliersAchievements: Transitioned the firm through the Retail Distribution Review (RDR) implementing the Fee Charging Model for the Investment side of the business and replacing the pre-RDR commission model; Selected for FCA Assessing Suitability for highlighting advice and ensuring robust procedures and compliance scrutiny; Implemented a confidential HR counselling resource for employees; Ensured key clients were tactfully notified of the death of a Partner and implemented strategic plans to transition smoothly without impacting productivity. Show less

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  Helm Godfrey

  Sept 2017 - now

  Senior Compliance Manager (Director)

  One of the largest independently owned Wealth Management and Corporate Solutions practices in the UK.Ensure governance, risk, and compliance align with legal, regulatory, and monitoring incl. new initiativesManage relationships with the regulatorSME and designated MLRO (SMF17)Ensure FCA RegData returns/reports/responses are completed and validatedApplication and validation of FCA Connect activitiesImplement/manage annual certification of SM&CR and Consumer DutyWork with Operations and Wealth Managers to ensure robust processes/proceduresDeliver compliance training across the firmSet up the Compliance Alerts incl. integrating with the intranetLead, manage, coach and mentor the Compliance TeamTraining and competence supervision of advisors incl. testing/certificationUtilise back-office system to select high-risk files for file review checkingOversee file reviews, issue feedback, and check associated remedial workAchievements: Trained key business stakeholders around compliance, policies and procedures that improved audit scores and reduced risk; Identified areas of compliance vulnerability and actioned plans that eliminated repeat occurrence; Key member of the strategy working team that delivered the Helm Godfrey M&A incl. risks and opportunities, validating assumptions and projections, assessing regulatory compliance, analysing financial performance and synergies, cultural fit and integration challenges, aligning staff and executed the integration plan; Implemented the FCA Consumer Duty (principle 12 and conduct rule 6) across the firm, complying with the new duty to ensure higher and clearer standards of consumer protection and that the firm embedded the culture to deliver good customer outcomes; Built strong relations with FCA departments after securing DFM permissions, effecting a change of control during the M&A; Brought the monitoring of Discretionary Fund Management (DFM) inhouse, project managing the exercise resulting in a 50% cost reduction. Show less

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  Advance Wealth Limited

  Aug 2024 - now

  Compliance Officer