It seems that there used to be a quiet time during the first couple of weeks in January; giving a good opportunity to catch up on things and do some planning when there was not a lot of other distractions. However now financial services activities seems to start earlier every year.

In 2011, I feel that the workload has continued without a break. Is it the sign of a busy year to come?

This could well be the case, as there are a number of potential issues and activities that have communications implications for organisations in financial services. We can expect to see new superannuation legislation (again!) as well as the possibility of tougher regulation to protect investors – hopefully providing greater investor protection following the collapse of a number of investment schemes where investors lost capital. On top of this, there are a number of other issues that financial services operations will need to deal with. Will we see a return of confidence to the market with investors seeking advice and increasing inflows for fund managers?

The consensus seems to be there will be stronger markets during the year, particularly in equities, following the trend in other international markets. If this happens, there will be an increased demand for communications advice for organisations wanting to take advantage of the positive markets. Anyway, fingers crossed that it will be a good year for everyone in financial services participants, highlighted by greater transparency and an increased commitment to communications.

I’m particularly looking forward to the Pritchitt Partners annual new year event next week, when John Brogden, CEO of the Financial Services Council, will give some insights into what 2011 holds for the financial services industry.