We’re on a mission…
...to help firms test, improve and evidence customer understanding in the communications they create.
We help firms build clearer customer communications and stronger evidence of customer understanding under Consumer Duty.
What makes us different?
Testing, not just opinion: We combine structured review, customer testing and evidence-led analysis to show where understanding holds up and where it breaks down.
Structured, scalable analysis: CUE combines AI-powered workflows with defined review frameworks to deliver faster, more consistent and more auditable results.
Investment and Consumer Duty expertise: Specialists in customer-facing investment literature, product mechanics, and the FCA’s customer understanding expectations.
CUE is not just another consumer testing provider or communications consultancy.
Our approach is built to help firms identify where customers may struggle, improve communications in a structured way, and evidence why those changes were made.
Global & Cross-Border Expertise
CUE’s methodology adapts across multiple jurisdictions while maintaining consistent principles.
Consistency in compliance: Unified methodology that respects local regulatory and language differences.
Efficient cross-border solutions: Tailored insights for firms operating in multiple markets.
Global best practices: Leveraging experience from EUSIPA and diverse regulatory landscapes to enhance client offerings.
Meet our Founders
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Zak de Mariveles has spent more than 35 years in financial services, including early roles in technology and more than 25 years specialising in Investments.
He is Founder and Chairman of the UK Structured Products Association (UKSPA), where he has represented the structured product industry since 2010, working closely with regulators, manufacturers, distributors, and advisers on market standards, transparency, and investor understanding. He also serves on the board of EUSIPA, the main European trade body for the Industry.
Zak began his career in stockbroking and technology before moving into front office roles at Barclays Capital, later specialising in structured products and going on to hold Managing Director positions at Royal Bank of Scotland and Société Générale. He also went on to become Owner and CEO of Dura Capital, giving him experience across both the Manufacturing and Distribution sides of the UK Investment market.
His work today focuses on structured products, customer understanding in retail financial communications, and the use of technology to strengthen regulatory evidence and improve customer outcomes.
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Sophie is a highly credible financial marketing professional and copywriter, with a passion for using simple language and making financial concepts easy for investors to understand.
She has over 20 years experience in financial markets, including 10 years in-house at a large US investment bank. Her deep experience combined with her communication skills means she specialises in being able to interpret and adapt technical content so that it is suitable for the intended target audience. While her field of expertise is structured products, she has experience creating and testing content for a wide range of financial products and services.
Sophie is also a director of the UK Structured Products Association, alongside Zak, where they have worked together for over a decade. As Chair of the association’s marketing committee, she is involved with various initiatives to help promote the structured product industry more widely in the UK.
