As Consumer Duty regulations continue to reshape the financial services landscape, firms face growing expectations to prioritise consumer welfare in every step of their operations. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has introduced Consumer Duty with an emphasis on delivering positive consumer outcomes, encouraging firms to focus on transparency, accountability, and continuous improvement. To meet these evolving requirements, TURN has launched a solution that enables seamless processing of the Distributor Feedback Template (DFT), an open standard defined by the Joint Trade Associations, ensuring broad accessibility and industry-wide consistency— a tool designed to foster alignment, streamline communication, and improve governance across the distribution chain. 

Consumer Duty requires a consistent feedback loop between asset managers and distributors to ensure products align with the needs of their target markets. TURN’s DFT provides this, enabling feedback and trends analysis that supports compliance, strengthens governance, and promotes better outcomes for consumers. As the financial industry adapts to these new standards, the DFT stands as an essential asset in helping firms navigate compliance while fostering transparency and trust across the distribution chain. 

Through ongoing dialogue with industry leaders, TURN has noted varied responses to the Consumer Duty requirements. Some firms are well-prepared and are proactively integrating tools like the DFT to enhance their compliance frameworks. For these companies, the DFT serves as a critical conversation starter, prompting essential discussions around consumer outcomes, demonstrating strong product governance and evidencing commitment to improvement. Other firms, however, remain uncertain about the necessity of adopting additional tools, believing their current methods suffice. This variability underscores the importance of industry-wide alignment, with the DFT acting as a bridge to achieve consistent standards in Consumer Duty compliance. Firms are clearly reminded of their obligations within the FCAs guidance: 
2.22 Distributor firms are required to share information to support manufacturers when reviewing products or services. Where firms do not comply with this requirement, they may therefore be in breach of the Duty. 

• 6.68 To support manufacturers’ reviews, distributors must, upon request, provide relevant information, including, where appropriate, sales information, information on cancellations, and information on the regular reviews of their distribution arrangements. 

• 6.69 The requirement to provide information to support manufacturer reviews applies to all distributor firms in the distribution chain. We expect all firms in a distribution chain to co-operate. 

However, TURN’s vision for the DFT goes beyond mere compliance — it seeks to empower firms by creating a structured feedback mechanism where distributors can provide manufacturers with insights on product suitability and effectiveness. In doing so, the DFT not only helps asset managers tailor their products to meet consumer needs but also provides distributors with a clear and reliable framework for aligning with Consumer Duty requirements. 

This commitment to fostering collaboration and transparency within the financial sector is further bolstered by TURN’s partnership with CXCO. Together, TURN and CXCO offer tools that not only simplify the path to Consumer Duty compliance but also instill consumer-focused values within firm operations. The DFT, for instance, encourages a more granular approach to product reviews, ensuring that firms can quickly detect and address potential issues before they escalate. In addition to simplifying the distribution and alignment of regulatory data through the DFT, TURN has partnered with CXCO to enhance Consumer Duty (CD) compliance with both qualitative and quantitative insights, amplifying the customer voice throughout the distribution chain. Consumer Duty is not just about delivering a good customer experience; it’s about achieving and maintaining good outcomes. By differentiating between positive experiences and measurable outcomes, CXCO’s tools empower asset managers and distributors to monitor and assess customer journeys, with a level of detail appropriate to the nature of the customer relationship.  This continuous, outcome-focused approach allows firms to proactively identify potential risks and refine their processes, ensuring they consistently deliver improved customer outcomes aligned with the principles of Consumer Duty. 

As the financial services industry strives for a more ethical, transparent future, TURN’s DFT represents a forward-looking solution that aligns all parties within the distribution chain around shared goals of compliance and consumer satisfaction. By offering a transparent feedback system, the DFT helps ensure that products are suitable, data is readily accessible, and industry standards are consistently upheld. This, in turn, cultivates consumer trust, setting new benchmarks for excellence in data management and regulatory alignment. 

TURN invites all asset managers, distributors, and industry stakeholders to explore the DFT, joining the movement toward a more consumer-centric future in financial services. As regulatory expectations continue to evolve, TURN remains at the forefront, committed to empowering the industry to meet these challenges with resilience, transparency, and unwavering dedication to the consumer.