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50for50: Nick Bamford
In the first of 50 interviews to celebrate Money Management’s 50th anniversary, IFA Nick Bamford reveals why he’d rip up the FSA rulebook
Nick Bamford, director of Informed Choice, takes a trip down the Seine, fast forwards RDR and praises our very own Janet Walford.
What will be the biggest change in the industry in the next 50 years? I think it’s going to be people using the internet as their primary source of obtaining advice. But change is always a good thing, it doesn’t replace interaction.
If you were head of the FSA for a day, what would you do? I would take all the rulebooks and decimate them. For every 100 pages of policy statements, consultation papers, rules and guidance, I would reduce them down to one page. I honestly believe that less is more in regulation terms.
What’s the most significant non-financial event in the past 50 years? The work done to map DNA. All things in scientific terms are going to come from that.
Who has had the most impact on the industry over the past 50 years? Janet Walford. I think she has – in a very controlled and professional manner, without going over the top in terms of attacking people or being too passive – had a really good impact.
What was your first ever investment? It was a regular savings plan with a company called Target Life. I was only a kid at the time. I made neither a loss nor a gain when I cashed it in.
If I were head of the FSA for a day, I would take all the rulebooks and decimate them.
If I was not in financial services I would be... A zoo keeper. I spent a whole summer working in Bristol Zoo. It was selling ice cream, but what I wanted to be doing was looking after the animals.
If I had one piece of advice for the industry 50 years ago it would be... Introduce the RDR immediately. We should’ve done it years ago.
If money were no object, I would celebrate Money Management’s 50th by... Having a Champagne reception on a nice boat going down the River Seine in Paris. But do it on a warmer day than today.
MM is running a series of 50 interviews in 50 days (50for50) as we approach the magazine’s 50th anniversary. For more details on the special 50th anniversary issue, contact the editor Janet Walford OBE (janet.walford@ft.com) or advertising account manager Costa Savva (costas.savva@ft.com).
