Home > IFA Industry > Advisory Companies
RDR will separate the men from the boys: Fisher
The IFA firms that survive the current economic turmoil will be the ones capable of meeting the retail distribution review requirements in 2012, according to Andrew Fisher, chief executive of Towry Law.
During a panel debate at the Future of Life Assurance conference in London Mr Fisher said it was "disgusting" that so many members of the industry were calling for the implementation of the retail distribution review to be pushed back.
He said probably more than 50 per cent of people in the financial advice industry were not educated to a sufficient standard to make recommendations and any move to raise standards in the IFA industry should not be delayed.
Speaking to delegates gathered at the Queen Elizabeth II conference centre in Westminster, Mr Fisher said: "There should be absolute outrage that the education of IFAs could be pushed back. People should be lobbying the government and the Treasury
Mr Fisher, whose company charges fees, said the RDR should also be used as an opportunity to ban commission.
He said: "We continue to lie that people do not pay fees. Everyone in this country pays a fee - whether it is for a plumber or an accountant. What they will not do is pay £10,000 for what is £100, and when asked to pay £100 or nothing at all, they say they would rather pay nothing at all.
"There will be fewer incompetent people giving advice after the retail distribution review."
Michelle Cracknell, strategy director of Skandia and a former IFA, said the timing of the RDR was unfortunate and the FSA's proposals had already started to be watered down as the City watchdog faced wider demands on its time.
She said: "I do not believe it should be delayed. That would be a bad thing. Qualifications should be introduced as a hygiene factor. We should just get on and do that. Similarly with adviser charging we should plough on with charging fees.
"I think any delay is bad because otherwise people will just carry on with inappropriate behaviour. Last year we saw a reversion of behaviour. People who had been changing their business models needed to pay for it and did so through bond and with profits sales."
On the subject of whether providers were ready for customer agreed remuneration, Ms Cracknell said Skandia would "continue with that journey."
