RegulationDec 17 2020

Read it now: Advisers warn of innovation barrier & lessons of 2020

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Read it now: Advisers warn of innovation barrier & lessons of 2020

The final edition of Financial Adviser was stuffed like a stocking this week when it came to exclusives. 

On the front page, the FTAdviser reporters talked with financial advisers who claimed the ever-increasing cost of doing business acts as a barrier to innovation. 

The Financial Conduct Authority's latest review into the UK advice market post-Retail Distribution Review and post-Financial Advice Market Review suggested that advisers ought to innovate more to find lower-cost ways of serving more clients.

However, advisers claimed the rising Financial Services Compensation Scheme levy, together with regulatory fees and a hardening professional indemnity insurance market, was making this sort of development impossible.

Chloe Cheung also reported on responses to the FCA's Call for Input on the retail investments market, collated by Panacea Adviser on behalf of its community and sent into the regulator ahead of its deadline earlier this month.

In it, advisers claimed the regulator had been too quick to dismiss the idea of a product-based levy, arguing that imposing such a levy would help reduce the burden of cost on advisers, allowing them to serve more consumers, while helping to prevent high-risk and unsuitable investments causing detriment to consumers.

On page two, senior reporter Imogen Tew revealed ongoing problems with ReAssure since it took on a back book of policies that originated with Legal & General. Advisers cited lengthy delays in getting details from the insurance provider for death claims and for annuity payments. 

Elsewhere, Financial Adviser reported on pensions advice needs becoming central to the debate on pensions in the House of Commons, while senior commentators across the investments, mortgages, pensions and protection sectors talked of the response to 2020 and outlined lessons we can take with us into 2021.

And, with this being the last ever edition of Financial Adviser, we take a long look back at the print publication, with thoughts shared by former editors and staff members, together with some rather interesting memories of three-foot giraffes, dehydrated pigeons and a dodgy headline that almost made it to the printers. 

To read the last-ever copy of FA's digital version, click here or copy and paste the URL below into your browser window: https://content.yudu.com/web/43wcl/0A43wcm/FA1712/html/index.html?origin=reader

Have a very merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from all of us at FTAdviser and Financial Adviser.

Simoney Kyriakou