Welcome to the future of the past with restricted advice

However, when faced with a restricted list, it may not look quite like business as usual in practice. There is another very important detail within the package – professional indemnity cover and regulatory fees come as part of the restricted package. That feels like the real incentive for advisers.

In many ways, Sesame still seems to be pretty open. There is still the Sesame platform for both types of advisers. Many members will stay independent. The central investment proposition – a joint venture with fund manager Henderson – could presumably hand you some assets to manage as well.

But the interesting statistic, if we can ever get our hands on it, may be how much fund business from that restricted group goes through Sesame One and how much through the life office fund links on the list. A growing number of restricted advisers, combined with a lot of business going through the list, might narrow the channels substantially.

From an investment adviser’s point of view, however, it does present one dilemma. What do you do if you want to restrict but you don’t like a network’s restricted offering? Do you stay independent, lobby to alter the list or move network? For anxious investment providers who do not make it onto a post-RDR product list, these restricted advisers could represent an important opportunity.