OpinionNov 19 2013

Adviser Rant: Am I ‘independent’ or ‘restricted’?

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I am a proud IFA. I believe I give unbiased, independent advice without prejudice so why am I having a major problem identifying whether I am ‘independent’ or ‘restricted’?

I use a platform for most of my business, selected using a rigorous due diligence of the platform market.

I occasionally use other products rather than those on the platform if I believe they are better for my client.

The FCA says ‘independent’ advisers consider all products from all firms, whereas ‘restricted’ advisers consider products from several but not all product providers.

I think that makes me independent but when I read the many articles on the subject I am not so sure and, in fact, each one I read just leaves me more confused.

So if I am confused how can I expect clients to understand my status?

Should I care? I probably wouldn’t if the negative label ‘restricted’ wasn’t used.

A more appropriate description needs to be applied; it could be ‘specialist’, ‘pensions’, ‘investment’ or ‘ethical’ etc, depending on the business model.

The FCA needs to clarify this for the consumer. If an adviser is considering the whole-of-market for the segment of business that they are specialising in, then they are not providing their clients with restricted advice.

Rab Shields is an independent financial adviser at Simple Solutions Wealth Management