Virtual receptionist for financial advisers: no advice, review bookings and careful handling of clients

Who actually calls a financial adviser's office?

Most calls to an advice firm come from existing clients: booking or moving a review, chasing paperwork, or asking about a withdrawal. Then come new enquiries, providers and platforms, other professionals such as solicitors and accountants, family members or attorneys calling about a client, and the occasional caller who isn't who they say they are.

A typical advice firm's phone carries a wider mix than people expect:

• Ongoing advice clients wanting their adviser, a review date, a form they were promised, or a call about taking money out of a pension or ISA. Many have dealt with the same adviser for years and expect to be known by name.
• New enquiries: someone approaching retirement and unsure about their pension options, a person who has inherited money, a business owner thinking about an exit, a couple wanting protection after having a baby, a referral from an accountant or solicitor.
• Providers and platforms chasing missing information, signatures or confirmations on a client's case. These are often time-sensitive for the paraplanning team.
• Other professionals: a client's solicitor during probate or a divorce, their accountant, a trustee.
• Family members and attorneys ringing about a parent or partner, sometimes after a bereavement or a diagnosis.
• Calls that need care: worried clients when markets fall, cold callers, and people trying to find out whether someone is your client, or to change their details.

Mortgage enquiries are a different type of call with their own pace and paperwork; if your firm also arranges mortgages, see our guide to call answering for mortgage brokers. This page is about investment, pension, protection and ongoing planning work.

How does a receptionist avoid saying anything that sounds like advice?

By having a clear rule and the words to go with it: the receptionist doesn't comment on any investment, pension, product, market or decision, even to reassure, and passes every such question to an adviser with a note of what the caller asked and how urgent it feels to them.

Most risky moments aren't a caller asking outright "what should I do?". They're small, friendly comments that sound harmless: "I'm sure it'll bounce back", "most people leave it alone", "that sounds like a good idea". To a worried client, a comment like that from someone answering in your firm's name can carry weight. Whether a particular remark could count as advice in regulatory terms is a question for you and your compliance support. The practical answer for a receptionist is simpler: don't comment at all.

That last row matters. Decide in writing whether your receptionist can ever accept an instruction (most firms say never) and what they do when a client tries to give one. A receptionist taking a message that says "client wants to sell" is not the same as your firm receiving and acting on an instruction, and the client should be told that clearly so they don't assume it's done.

How should existing clients and new enquiries be handled differently?

Existing clients should be recognised, routed to their own adviser or the client services team, and given a realistic callback time. New enquirers should be asked a few structured questions (what they want help with, roughly when, and how they found you) and nothing about their finances in detail, then booked in for a first conversation or passed to whoever handles new business.

The first question a receptionist usually needs to answer is simply: is this someone we already look after? A client list, or a list of adviser names and the clients each looks after, helps a receptionist route calls without asking a long-standing client to explain themselves.

Existing clients

• Note the client's name, their adviser, and a one-line reason: "Wants to know if the transfer paperwork has gone to the provider."
• Ask whether there's a date involved, such as a withdrawal they need by a certain day, a completion date on a house sale, or a tax-year deadline they've mentioned.
• Book or move a review if you allow it (see below), otherwise pass the request on.
• Don't discuss values, contributions, plans or anything on file, even with the client. A receptionist can't properly confirm who they're talking to, and it isn't their role.

New enquiries

Many advice firms are selective about who they take on, and some have a minimum level of assets or a particular type of client. Tell your receptionist, so they can be honest early without discussing anyone's wealth in detail.

1. Contact details: name, phone, email, and the best time to call.
2. What it's about, in broad terms: retirement or pension planning, investing a lump sum, protection, inheritance and estate planning, a business owner's planning, or "not sure".
3. Any timing: a retirement date, a sale completing, an inheritance being paid, or a decision they've been told to make by a certain date.
4. How they heard about you: especially referrals from accountants and solicitors, which you'll want to thank.
5. Anything that would help the first call: for example, if they'd prefer a call with a family member present, or need any adjustments.

Leave account values, pension pots, income and health details for the adviser. Collecting less is better for data protection and keeps the receptionist out of territory that leads to questions they can't answer.

Can a virtual receptionist book annual reviews?

Yes, if you give them access to your advisers' diaries or booking system and clear rules: how long each review is, whether it's in person, by video or by phone, which adviser sees which client, and what the client needs to send beforehand. The receptionist books the slot; your team handles the preparation and the advice.

For firms with ongoing advice clients, reviews are a steady source of calls: clients replying to an invitation, moving a date, asking whether a review is due, or wanting to bring a partner along. A receptionist who can book directly saves a round of phone tag.

What to set up first

• Diary access. Ask providers whether they can work in your booking tool or calendar, and whether they see only free and busy times or more. Showing only free and busy is usually enough.
• Review types and lengths. A first meeting, a standard annual review and a quick check-in call may need different slots, rooms or video links.
• Who sees whom. Clients usually stay with one adviser. Decide whether another adviser can step in when theirs is fully booked.
• What happens after booking. Who sends the confirmation, the pre-review questionnaire and any request for documents. Keep that with your team, not the receptionist, if it involves personal financial information.
• Joint clients. Decide whether either partner can book or move a joint review, and whether both need to attend.

Reviews and vulnerable clients

Booking calls are where a receptionist may first notice that something has changed: a client who sounds confused about the date, mentions a recent bereavement or a hospital stay, or asks whether their son can come too. Make sure your receptionist knows to note this for the adviser (see vulnerable clients below).

What happens when markets fall and worried clients start ringing?

Calls can arrive in a rush, mostly from clients wanting reassurance or wanting to act. A receptionist should take a calm, consistent message, avoid any comment on markets or the client's money, offer a callback or a short appointment, and flag anyone who says they want to withdraw or switch, so advisers can call those clients first.

When a sharp market fall makes the news, an advice firm's phone can go from quiet to non-stop in a morning. Advisers are trying to call clients themselves at the same time. This is exactly when a well-briefed receptionist is useful, and when a badly briefed one can cause harm with a single off-the-cuff remark.

Prepare before it happens

1. Agree a holding message with whoever signs off your client communications. It should say that advisers know clients may be concerned, that they're contacting clients, and how to get a callback. It should not predict anything.
2. Set triage rules. For example: clients who say they want to sell, withdraw or switch go to the top of the callback list; clients drawing an income from their investments next; general worry after that.
3. Check the provider's capacity. Ask how they handle a sudden spike in calls for one client firm, and whether your callers would wait longer or reach voicemail.
4. Decide on extra slots. Some firms open short phone appointments in advisers' diaries that the receptionist can book on the day.

Afterwards, ask for a list of every call taken that day. It shows which clients made contact, which haven't, and who might benefit from a call even though they didn't ring.

How should a receptionist respond to clients in vulnerable circumstances?

By slowing down, listening, taking a careful note of anything that affects how the client needs to be supported, and passing it to the adviser promptly. The FCA expects firms to make sure their staff can recognise and respond to the needs of vulnerable customers, so if a receptionist answers your phones, your briefing should cover this.

The FCA's guidance on the fair treatment of vulnerable customers (FG21/1) describes a vulnerable customer as someone who, due to their personal circumstances, is especially susceptible to harm, particularly when a firm is not acting with appropriate levels of care. It treats vulnerability as a spectrum of risk that anyone can move along, linked to things such as poor health (including cognitive impairment), life events (such as new caring responsibilities), low resilience to financial or emotional shocks, and low capability (such as poor literacy or numeracy).

The guidance says firms should make sure their staff have the right skills and capability to recognise and respond to the needs of vulnerable customers, and should offer flexible customer service. The FCA's Consumer Duty, which came into force from 31 July 2023, includes consumer support as one of its four outcomes and requires firms to consider customers' needs, including characteristics of vulnerability, at every stage of the customer journey. These are your firm's responsibilities. Your receptionist is often the first person to hear that something has changed, so your instructions to them are part of how you meet them.

What that looks like on the phone

• Bereavement. A widow ringing about her late husband's pension should not be asked to repeat herself or be passed around. Take the details once, express condolences, and get the adviser to call back the same day if possible.
• Confusion or memory problems. Speak slowly, confirm the callback time twice, and note it for the adviser. Don't book something complicated if the caller seems unsure.
• Distress. A client panicking about money, or about something in their life, needs patience and a quick handover, not a script read at speed.
• Practical needs. Hearing loss, a preference for a family member to be on the call, or a need for written follow-up.

Agree with your provider how these notes are recorded and sent. Information about someone's health can be sensitive personal data, so it should only be passed on in the way you've set up, and only what the adviser needs. If a caller suggests anyone is at risk of immediate harm, the receptionist should follow your emergency instructions, including calling 999 where someone is in immediate danger.

How should a receptionist deal with scam and impersonation calls?

By never confirming whether someone is a client, never giving out or changing any client details over the phone, and taking a message for the adviser instead. Firms should also make sure the phone number on their FCA register entry is answered properly, because the FCA tells consumers to use those contact details to check a firm is genuine.

An advice firm holds exactly the information fraudsters want: who has a large pension or investment account, what their address is, and which provider it's with. Scam and pretext calls can sound very ordinary:

• "I'm calling from Mrs Patel's pension provider; can you confirm her date of birth?"
• "Hi, it's David, I've changed my bank account, can you update it before my withdrawal?"
• "I'm her nephew, I'm sorting out her affairs, which adviser does she see?"
• "Is Mr Lewis one of your clients? I'm trying to get hold of him."

The rules for a receptionist are simple and should be absolute:

1. Don't confirm or deny that someone is a client. "I can take your details and pass a message to the relevant person" works for everyone.
2. Don't give out any client information: no addresses, dates of birth, providers, adviser names linked to a client, or appointment details.
3. Don't accept changes to bank details, addresses or contact details by phone. Pass the request to your team, who should verify it through your own procedures.
4. Note the caller's number and details and flag anything that felt wrong, so the adviser can call the client back on a number you already hold.

Clients checking up on you

The FCA's scam guidance warns consumers that some firms pretend to be authorised firms, and tells them to use the contact details shown on the FCA Firm Checker rather than numbers given to them. So clients may ring you to check a call or email that claimed to be from your firm. Your receptionist should treat these calls seriously, take full details of what the client received, and pass them to an adviser quickly. Check that the number on your register entry is one your receptionist answers, and that your receptionist knows to tell the client not to act on the suspicious contact until they've spoken to their adviser.

What should happen when family members or attorneys call about a client?

The receptionist should be kind and take a full message, but not share or confirm anything about the client. An adviser then checks the caller's authority (a registered lasting power of attorney, a grant of probate, or the client's own consent) using your firm's procedures before discussing the client's affairs.

These calls are often well-meant and emotional: a daughter whose father has had a stroke, a husband trying to understand his late wife's pension, a solicitor acting as executor. They're also exactly the calls that can go wrong, because the caller usually sounds completely genuine.

Lasting powers of attorney

In England and Wales, a property and financial affairs lasting power of attorney (LPA) lets an attorney make decisions about someone's money and property, such as managing accounts or collecting a pension. GOV.UK says it must be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian, and can be used as soon as it's registered, with the donor's permission. LPAs are legally binding only in England and Wales; Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own powers of attorney. The Office of the Public Guardian also runs a free search to find out whether someone has a registered attorney or deputy.

None of that is for the receptionist to check on a call. Their job is to recognise the type of call and route it properly.

What the receptionist should note

• The caller's name, relationship to the client, and contact number.
• Whether they say they hold a power of attorney, are an executor, or are calling with the client's permission.
• What they're asking about, in their own words, and any date pressure (a care home fee, a funeral, a house sale).
• Whether the client is with them and happy to speak, in which case the adviser may be able to call back and speak to the client directly.

The same applies to accountants, solicitors and providers asking about a client: take the message and let the adviser respond. Our virtual receptionist for solicitors guide covers the other side of these conversations.

What should an advice firm look for in a virtual receptionist service?

Look for a service that will learn your firm's 'never say' rules, can book into advisers' diaries, routes existing clients and new enquiries differently, can cope with sudden spikes, records sensitive notes carefully, and gives you a clear UK GDPR processor contract. Test it with the awkward calls before you rely on it.

Most services can answer a phone politely. These are the questions that separate one suited to an advice firm:

1. Briefing and control. Can you give them a written list of topics they must never discuss and see it applied consistently? How quickly can you update a holding message when markets move?
2. Client recognition. Can they hold a list of clients and their advisers, or look it up, so long-standing clients aren't treated like strangers?
3. Diary booking. Can they book reviews and introductory calls into your system, and see only what they need?
4. Capacity. What happens to your calls when everyone rings on the same morning? Ask how they manage a spike for one client firm.
5. Vulnerability and sensitive notes. How do their receptionists recognise and record a client's support needs, and how are those notes sent and stored?
6. Security. Do their staff understand never confirming who is a client, never changing details by phone, and flagging suspicious calls?
7. Data protection. The ICO explains that a company handling personal data on your behalf is normally a processor, and UK GDPR Article 28 requires a written contract with set terms. Ask for their data processing terms, where messages and any recordings are stored, and for how long.
8. Testing. Before going live, ring as a worried client after a market fall, a new enquirer asking "which fund is best?", and a nephew asking whether his aunt is a client. Read the messages you get.

For a fuller checklist, see how to choose a call answering service, and if you want evening and weekend cover, out of hours call answering. This guide doesn't recommend any particular company. If you'd like, we can pass your details to one call answering provider from our partners, who can explain how they would handle your firm's calls.

Related guides

Virtual receptionist for financial advisers: frequently asked questions

Sources

We checked the facts on this page against these sources on 12 November 2026:

• FCA: Guidance for firms on the fair treatment of vulnerable customers (FG21/1)
• FCA: PS22/9 A new Consumer Duty
• FCA: Protect yourself from scams
• GOV.UK: Make, register or end a lasting power of attorney
• GOV.UK: Find out if someone has an attorney, deputy or guardian acting for them
• ICO: Contracts and liabilities between controllers and processors

This guide is general information for UK businesses, not legal, regulatory or financial advice. Call Answering Hub is an independent guide. We don't answer calls ourselves and we're not a call answering company. If you ask us to, we'll put you in touch with one call answering provider from our partners.

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