The proposals for platforms to "police" whether investors are still getting advice would mean unpicking the reforms made by the Retail Distribution Review (RDR), Aegon has warned.
In its investment platform market study, the Financial Conduct Authority proposed forcing platforms to shift clients they suspect are no longer receiving advice to accounts which do not pay an ongoing fee to the adviser.
But Steven Cameron, pensions director at Aegon, warned it would go again the principles of the Retail Distribution Review if platforms were to suddenly switch off adviser charges after 12 months of no activity.
The FCA pulled the plug on commission in favour of customer agreed remuneration at the end of 2012 as part of the Retail Distribution Review.
He said: "Forcing platforms to police advised status, to potentially cancel adviser charges and to report this to the FCA goes against the separation of roles at the heart of the Retail Distribution Review.
"Advice can cover many things, goes well beyond 'product' and doesn't always result in platform activity.
"The Retail Distribution Review made it clear that it is solely between advisers and their clients to agree on an appropriate advice service and associated adviser charge with no involvement from the provider other than to facilitate the payment if instructed to by the client.
"The FCA's proposal appears to mix up the roles."
The FCA has been approached and asked to comment on Mr Cameron's claim that proposals in the platform market study contradict the Retail Distribution Review.
In the interim report of the platform market study, the FCA raised concerns about the fact there were more than 400,000 "orphaned" accounts on adviser platforms belonging to clients who were no longer being advised.
This raised the prospect of these clients being stuck on a platform which is no longer appropriate for them or still being charged for advice they do not receive.
To address this, the FCA said it was considering whether to impose a requirement on platforms to check, if there is no activity after a year, that their customers are receiving an advice service, and also inform the watchdog of orphan clients who are still paying an adviser for advice they no longer receive.
Stefan Fura, director of financial planning firm Furnley House, said: "As a firm which actively engages with clients, I don't see it as a problem to safeguard that clients are being looked after.
"The issue is that it is great saying 'lets reach out to clients to find out whether they are being serviced or not' but if the clients says they aren't, how are the platforms going to deal with that?
"The approaches I have seen some platforms take have been very hands-off because they don't want to alienate other clients."
The interim report also raised concerns about the "burdensome" task of switching platforms.
It stated advisers often leave existing investments on more expensive platforms but it found switching platforms could take up to 15 hours of an advice firm's time.
damian.fantato@ft.com
