Words are very important. This is particularly true when a customer is receiving advice or guidance from a financial adviser.

Over the years the FCA has sought to help advisers understand what it wants them to do when they are giving guidance or advice.

In more recent times, it has become of particular concern to the regulator as a result of the explosion in the number of defined benefit (DB) transfers that are being carried out.

Additionally the introduction of pensions freedoms and the retail distribution review have led to a gap in advice.

So the FCA has decided that further changes are required with DB transfers to protect customers, while it is reviewing the role that advice and guidance play in the ever widening advice gap.

In this guide we will be exploring what is meant by advice and guidance, changes being proposed by the FCA for DB transfers and how technology is helping to bridge the advice gap.

This guide is worth an indicative 60 minutes of CPD.

Contributors to this guide include: Patrick O’Leary, policy manager at Tenet Group; Mark Turner, managing director in the UK compliance and regulatory team at consultancy Duff and Phelps; Rory Percival, regulatory expert at Rory Percival Training and Consultancy; Steven Cameron, pensions director at Aegon; Alistair Cunningham, chartered financial planner at Wingate Financial Planning; Andrew Firth, chief executive at Wealth Wizards, Mark Spiers partner at Bovill.