In the financial market, the advancement of regulation and the search for transparency are forcing consultants and advisors to rethink the way they relate to their clients. And then, the question that remains is: How to ensure that the investment recommendation is truly made in the best interest of the investor and not the professional who offers it?
This was the starting point of the talk “Conflicts of Interest in regulated activities: the border between securities consultancy and investment consultancy”made not Congress Plan 2025this Tuesday (4).
The debate brought together representatives of Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM) and from Brazilian Association of Financial and Capital Market Entities (Anbima)in addition to experts from the legal and certification areas, to discuss how ethics and alignment of incentives have become central themes in the work of financial market professionals.
Remuneration and independence
To André Birdsuperintendent of market relations and intermediaries at CVM, recent regulatory developments have transformed the dynamics between advisors and intermediaries. “We had several changes that changed the advisor’s exclusivity scenario. Today, he can work with more than one intermediary, for example”, he says.
And this flexibility increased competition, but also brought new dilemmas. According to Bird, the form of remuneration is still the main focus of conflict.
“A conflict that is still very relevant is in the form of remuneration between the advisor and the consultant. We are already seeing offices no longer receiving commissions for distributed products and migrating to fixed remuneration models”, he states.
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The change, he says, seeks to reduce short-term incentives and align the professional’s interest with that of the client. And the competitive advantage is understand the customer and build a long-term relationship, and not just sell products that generate greater immediate returns.
Ethics and good faith: the duty to report and educate
During the meeting, the federal prosecutor for CVM and teacher at Lineage, Ilene Najjarianreinforced that ethics is not just a moral recommendation, it is a legal obligation. “Law 179 makes it clear, and complements 178, by determining that the professional must act ethically and in good faith”, he explains.
For Ilene, or financial planner needs to develop a holistic view of the client to avoid conflicts of interest in practice. This includes understanding the risk profile, the investor’s knowledge and their emotional tolerance to market fluctuations. “You [como assessor, planejador ou consultor] You need to know if the investor has the stomach to withstand the fluctuations of riskier investments”, he explains.
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It also highlights the importance of internal controlsespecially in large structures, with “in-house” or funds of funds.
“Great care must be taken with sophisticated products and shielding structures. The planner must trace the origin of the papers and report any indication of conflict to the CVM.”
According to the prosecutor, this active reporting and surveillance stance helps educate the market and strengthen investor confidence.
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Anbima’s role and the communication challenge
On the tip of self-regulation, Tatiana Itikawasuperintendent of Market Representation at Anbimahighlighted that one of the entity’s main efforts has been standardize the way information reaches the investor. “We discussed information standardization models with the CVM. We know there is still a journey ahead, but we need to make communications clearer and more accessible”, he says.
According to Tatiana, Anbima’s focus is investor centralitya topic that has guided several research and financial education actions in recent years.
“The consultant can recommend a product from the house, as long as it is clear that this is the best option among all.”
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She also remembers that the financial education should not only be aimed at the final public. But also to market professionals, who need to be prepared to translate the complexity of products into simple and transparent language.
From regulation to practice: trust as the main asset
The talk left a clear message: Conflicts of interest are inevitable, but they can (and should) be managed with transparency, ethics and customer focus.
The future of consultancy and advice depends less on formal rules and more on credibility that each professional builds in their relationship with the investor. As André Pássaro summarized, “it is necessary to stop thinking about the immediate result and look at the long term”.
And in this new scenario, ethics and trust are not just values. They are competitive advantages.
