The FSA/FCA & Post RDR Advice

A few thoughts following conversations with two other advisers about RDR now coming into sharp focus and how already businesses are thinking about what the post-RDR world might be like.

The FSA continues it’s death throes and appears to lash-out in a number of directions, none of which are particularly helpful and endearing.

Let’s face it, any regulator is going to be a pretty easy target. I hear from friends and clients in other industries about there respective oversight bodies and the names are interchangeable but the problems remain common.

I will return to this in a moment.

One of the very positive outcome of RDR thus far for me, is the genuine co-operation amongst forward thinking businesses and the willingness and desire to help each other.

Certainly a big change from the clashing ego-fests of Network and other bun-fights of the past. (that doesn’t mean that there aren’t IFA’s out there that I’d rather saw my leg off than spend 2 seconds in their Bond-addled company – But I digress…)

During our conversation, one noted that the FSA had stated that they were concerned that IFA’s were “shoe-horning” clients into an advice process…

Once I’d placed the tablet under my tongue and my vision had returned to normal, I was able to think about this statement.

I thought that the whole (or some) of the point of RDR was to focus on the advice process, have a defined and streamlined investment strategy and a clearly laid out structure for delivery along with transparent details on costs.

Naturally, in the course of considering how this might work in individual businesses you might also define exactly what type of clients you can work with and how you can best provide value to them.

If that means some prospects are headed off at the pass in favour of clients who “fit” and will be best served, is that wrong?

As regulators (in any industry) create rules and regs, then it’s natural for the participants to assimilate and adapt. This doesn’t mean that you can throw the head up when you get a result you don’t like.

Next week; “common sense – a forgotten art.”

Roland Oliver
May 2012

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