(1888PressRelease)
March 04, 2008 - Unbiased.co.uk surveyed over 250 of its member IFAs and found that less than one in five (16%) of IFAs believe generic advice proposals will lead to an increase in the take-up of savings products by consumers. Whilst the majority (61%) thinks it will have no impact, almost a quarter of IFAs (24%) believe a generic advice model will lead to a decline in the take-up of savings products.
Unbiased.co.uk’s survey also suggests that IFAs welcome the apparent FSA U-turn on linking the word independent in independent financial adviser to remuneration methods rather than to whole of market advice. When questioned about the impact of the FSA’s Retail Distribution Review (RDR), three in four IFAs (75%) state that the original proposal would have a negative impact on consumers’ understanding of the term independent in the context of independent financial advice. Less than one in ten (7%) believe consumers’ understanding would have been improved.
IFAs however were in favour of increasing the level of qualifications amongst their profession; 74% state that it is important to hold incremental qualifications over and above the current benchmark.
David Elms, Chief Executive of Unbiased.co.uk said, “We have seen a multitude of different views and opinions on the future shape of the UK financial advice market over the last six months. We have always maintained that the term independent must be linked to whole of market advice to help consumers understand the concept of truly independent financial advice.
“There have been various proposals for raising the qualifications benchmark to diploma level and this survey appears to show that there would be support from IFAs for such a move. Looking forward, the debate needs to focus on the nitty gritty of creating transparent payment options for consumers that apply on a level playing basis across all distribution types.”
