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Thursday 13 September 2007

Time to wake up to the Retail Distribution Review!

Jo Parker

Look it’s time to think about the consumer when it comes to the Retail Distribution Review. All our research shows an increase in demand for the need for tailored, independent financial advice. But if, as we fear, the RDR (as we affectionately call it) means there is confusion about what an independent financial adviser is (and it MUST mean someone who searches the whole of market) then consumers won’t be able to get what they want. The best, impartial advice available.

So let’s have a voice when RDR is reviewed in the Spring of next year. It’s in the consumer interest.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Two of the key issues the RDR sets out to tackle are provider and product bias (IFAs chasing highest commission) and secondly widening access to financial advice to many more consumers. Independent Financial Advice should be impartial, and at present the vast majority of IFAs do not charge fees only - let's hope the RDR results in Independent = whole of market and fee only. So those who still want to take commission can't be called Independent. As for opening up consumer access, IFAs won't fill this gap as they are only interested in servicing consumers that are profitable for them (undertsandably) i.e. high net worth consumers. What's wrong with tied financial advice? Yes its had problems in the past, but Banks seem to have got their act together (perhaps apart from PPI!) and can offer the scale, access, controls and consistency of advice that perhaps IFA firms can't.