Leading figures from the Financial Planning sector have hailed the work of the FCA’s Rory Percival after he announced he is to quit his job at the regulator.

Former IFP communications director Sue Whitbread said his insight was valued highly and he was always extremely popular with conference delegates.

Richard Allum CFPTM, founder of the Parpalanner Powwows, said he was perfect for the role and brought great common sense.

His personable nature and skills as a communicator were highlighted by
Paraplanner and Financial Planning Today columnist Dan Atkinson.

@rorypercival Thanks for all your hard work Hope the open candour of your approach is maintained by FCA. Helped us to help clients Good luck

— John Baxter (@j4bax) August 12, 2016

@rorypercival All the very best for your next adventure, Rory. You've been a breath of fresh air at the FCA & done great things there.

— Martin Bamford (@martinbamford) August 12, 2016

Ms Whitbread said: “His insight and perspective was particularly helpful and valued by advisers given his background prior to joining the regulator.

“I always felt that Rory understood the demands placed upon advisers and was able to help steer them well through the regulatory maze.

“It was notable that he usually had a queue of delegates waiting to speak with him after every time he delivered a session at IFP events.”

Mr Allum said: “He’s been a voice of common sense and had a great knack of translating what the FCA was trying to achieve in simple and easy to understand comments.

“I think he’s going to be hard to replace, it will be a very hard act to follow.

“He had a good sense of humour, I’ve chaired events where he’s been a key speaker and he’s been extremely popular. People have come to listen to him.

“I think he was perfect for the role and knew his brief inside out. He didn’t take any rubbish, he was prepared to stand his ground and defend the FCA’s position.”

Mr Allum said he had been a highly regarded figure among the Paraplanning community.

Mr Percival, who has held Chartered Financial Planner status, has been a regular speaker at events such as the IFP Annual Conference, the Paraplanners Conference, the Paraplanner Powwow and more in recent years.

Mr Allum said: “He’s been a great supporter to Parpalanning and always happy to join in.

“He embraced the spirit of the Powwow and we could have had double the length of time for his session last year, there were so many questions for him.”

Pictured below: Rory Percival speaking at the Paraplanners Powwow last year in a teepee

Mr Atkinson said: “He’s contributed a common sense approach particularly around compliance and report writing.

“I think his biggest legacy to Paraplanning is that the report has got to communicate to the clients and it’s not about compliance per se.

“He was really clear that the focus is what the client is wanting to achieve and you don’t need to remind them what their bank balance is!

"He was very clear as a communicator and I think that’s why he’s gone down so well with Paraplanners and Financial Planners, he’s understood how, from his experience, that the business works.”

Mr Atkinson said Mr Percival's background in Financial Planning earnt him a lot of credence among Financial Planners, saying: “He’s got real insight and that has earnt him a huge amount of respect.”

He said he will be missed and added: “I think the FCA has seen this way of interacting with the Paraplanning and Financial Planning profession and engaging in a very positive way works. He’s set a tone that can be picked up by whoever is taking on the mantle.

He added: “I think he’ll be very successful at what he does, he’s got a very personable approach.”

I will be setting up my own training and consultancy firm to continue to support the advisory sector's move towards greater professionalism

— Rory Percival (@rorypercival) August 12, 2016

Prior to joining the regulator, Mr Percival worked in the financial services industry for around 20 years and has held Chartered Financial Planner status.

He joined the regulator in 2006 and has been involved with high profile projects such as pension switching, structured products, platforms and intermediaries, risk profiling, centralised investment propositions, mystery shopping in banks, RDR implementation, RDR adviser charges and services, non-advised/simplified advice and due diligence on products and services.