Recruitment companies, credit card companies, loan agents, call centres, real estate agents, advisers from banks and independent financial advisers have the worst reputation in the UAE when it comes to professions, a new survey has revealed.

Dubai-based consultancy Insight Discovery, which released the ninth edition of the Middle East Investment Panorama report on Sunday, said it conducted a survey of 1,000 residents jointly with YouGov last week, in addition to its own interviews with 180 CEOs of top advisory firms in the last quarter of 2018.
Speaking to Gulf News, Nigel Sillitoe CEO, Insight Discovery, said a number of factors contribute to the poor perceptions.

He said: “Professions which have the worst reputation often have little or no regulation, which certainly applies in the case of recruiters. While regulations may exist in some sectors like real estate, extravagant claims of guaranteed yields and potential for returns bring down the credibility of agents.
"Similarly, disclosures of rates of interest and other terms and conditions in the case of credit card companies and loan agents can be misleading. Lack of transparency when it comes to commissions and fees is also a matter of concern. And of course, the practice of cold calling, which is prevalent in many of these professions, puts them in bad light.”

According to the survey, recruiters were at the bottom of the list, with 24 per cent of respondents rating them as the worst professionals, followed by credit card companies and loan agents at 18 per cent each.

While call centres and real estate agents came up next at 11 and 12 per cent respectively, advisers from banks and independent financial advisers fared less badly at 6 and 5 per cent. However, advisers were viewed as being less transparent on fees.

Draft regulations
Sillitoe said in the case of insurance brokers, the Insurance Authority has introduced draft regulations which proposes a cap on commissions for lump sum investments and fixed-term contractual plans.

“The draft also issues clear guidelines on the selling of insurance and investment products to safeguard the interest of customers and stipulates that advisers must provide customers with a detailed schedule of fees and commissions for the entirety of a policy’s life cycle. Most of the leading advisory firms welcome these changes, therefore it is clear that the financial advisory industry in the GCC countries is changing for the better, although there is some way to go still,” he added.

SOURCE : GULFNEWS