Tom Hegarty, CEO, Simplybiz

Tom Hegarty on advice, AI, and what’ s next for Simplybiz

In April, we welcomed Tom Hegarty to Simplybiz as our

new CEO. A familiar face to many of us – and many of our members! – Tom had previously been part of the group as MD of the New Model Business Academy. In this exclusive interview, we spoke to him about how he felt Simplybiz had evolved in recent years, changes he’ d seen across the advice landscape, and his plans to strengthen support to members moving forward.

The Adviser: Hi Tom, great to have you back at Simplybiz! How do you think the advice landscape has changed whilst you’ ve been away from us?

Tom: As you may remember, I left NMBA in 2019 and joined M & G Wealth Advice. My first year there was focused on creating a new advice network to run alongside the employed national business. Almost exactly twelve months into that role, just three months after launching the Advice Partnership, the country went into lockdown. That immediately changed the landscape: face-to-face advice was impossible, so advisers had to adapt quickly to remote delivery. The isolation made it challenging to run businesses in the traditional way, but it also accelerated new behaviours.

Interestingly, M & G had already developed a video technology solution – with e-signatures, document sharing and screen sharing – just before the pandemic. At the time, it felt state of the art, but soon after, Microsoft and Zoom poured investment into their platforms and overtook it. Firms shifted quickly to Teams and Zoom instead. The result was a permanent change: business practices became less reliant on face-to-face meetings. Some advisers chose to meet clients initially in person to build trust, while others preferred to start remotely to test whether a long-term relationship was viable before committing too much time. Efficiencies improved, and clients benefited from greater flexibility in how they engaged with advisers.

Not long afterwards, the Consumer Duty came into focus, moving the profession away from the older TCF principles. Preparing for- and implementing- Consumer Duty represented a major shift, demanding higher standards of care and clarity. So in my view, the two biggest forces over recent years have been business practice changes – especially through technology and Covid – and regulatory change through Consumer Duty.

As for Simplybiz itself, coming back into the business has been enlightening. Previously I led the New Model Business Academy, which focused on everything outside regulatory support – business planning, CPD, professional development, qualifications, and efficiency improvements. Simplybiz concentrated on compliance. Now, NMBA is no longer operating, but Simplybiz has definitely strengthened its proposition in recent years, and its regulatory capability has become more streamlined and expert.

4 | The Adviser