Tory horror at IFA in-fighting
Share
Senior Conservative MPs are “appalled” at the in-fighting and lack of focus within the IFA sector, according to Centre for Policy Studies research fellow Michael Johnson.
Johnson was secretary of the Economic Competitiveness Policy Group, established by the Tories in 2007 to review the UK economy.
Addressing delegates at the Money Marketing Retirement Summit in Dublin last week, Johnson said the evidence session he held with IFAs was by far the worst.
He said: “You need to get your act together and act as one unit. When we were taking evidence in the policy groups, we had hundreds of evidence sessions over two years and the worst session came from the IFA community.
“I sat there with John Redwood and we were appalled at the inconsistency of messages, the in-fighting, the lack of clarity and the lack of any
real focus.”
Johnson said IFAs have “surrendered the initiative” on the RDR to the FSA, which has taken over and implemented its own ideas on how to
reshape the industry.
He said: “Now you have got to work out a strategy as to how you are going to get that back. I have not heard a single word that gives me any actionable ideas as to what you are going to do.
“You have to build trust and only once you have created that trust will you be able to negotiate with the regulator to reduce the regulatory burden.”
Johnson said he believes that, in future, IFAs will move away from the advice area and become purely distributors.
He said: “I think the IFA community may well find itself moving away from advice and become first and foremost distributors. Eventually, they will not offer advice at all.”
Highclere Financial Services partner Alan Lakey says: “How can IFAs have a unified view? Everyone is concerned about the specific issues affecting their own businesses and that cannot be helped.”
If you enjoyed this article, sign up here to receive daily email updates from Money Marketing and Follow @_moneymarketing
View results 10 per page | 20 per page | 50 per page |
Readers' comments (60)
Anonymous | 6 Aug 2010 9:26 am
"Senior Conservative MPs 'appalled at inconsistency, lack of clarity and lack of real focus'. "
Howling with laughter at this headline, what did they expect from our industry? Very very funny.
Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment
Anonymous | 6 Aug 2010 9:32 am
Johnson states he is appalled at the infighting , lack of focus and inconsistency and the need to get their act together and act as one unit. Well when he has finished talking about the Government , perhaps , he will look at the IFA sector!
Governments of all shades including the current have had no consisitency at all , be it changing regulators at whim, pension rules , contracting out of SERPs etc.
As to surrendering matters to the FSA over RDR, we had no option. Do you really think we would have chosen the status quo.
Inconsistency applies in fines as the percentage of turnover IFA's are fined over minor misdemeanours would if applied to banks bring them crashing down. It is Government and FSA regulation of banks , or lack of it, that has created the mess we are all in as a nation. If IFA's get fined for poor administarion etc , why are the FSA muppets not charged the same and how many of these are banned from their industry for life.
Michael Johnson makes Gordon Brown look competent!
Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment
Anonymous | 6 Aug 2010 9:33 am
Perhaps we use the FSA as our model.
Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment
Richard Wilson | 6 Aug 2010 9:35 am
Hark at the kettle calling the pot black!!!
Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment
Jeremy Newbegin | 6 Aug 2010 9:36 am
To whom has Johnson been listening? He hasn't a clue. We are both - advisors and disributors. What is wrong with that? As long as the advice is unbiased, i.e. there is a level commission field the public will get good value and decent advice. What is the alternative? Let the public make up its own mind? Those of us experienced enough know only too well that many people will never action anything on that basis - and these people are the very people that need advice. RDR will mean more of the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer.
Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment
Anonymous | 6 Aug 2010 9:37 am
Mr Johnson is of course correct. IFAs tend to live in a word of their own drifting from one disaster to the next with no one body that is of any use whatsoever to represent them. AIFA and similar groups generally consist of self serving individuals who make futile attempts to please many but please none. This is exactly why the RDR has been forced upon us and it has been allowed to happen. Try this simple test.........put 10 IFAs who have never met each other in a locked room and I guarantee within 1 hour they will have formed some kind of association, affinity group, club, protest lobby or some other equally useless band of souls.
Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment
Anonymous | 6 Aug 2010 9:37 am
And this is why we need to get behind AIFA 100%. Do all of our fighting behind the scenes within that organisation to our hearts content, but then let AIFA go out and represent us. Nothing is more pathetic and asinine than all the sniping that goes on in public at AIFA as all it really achieves is to undermine the IFA community.
We do all have rather more in common with each other than say with Life Companies. Perhaps we should look at the bigger picture.
Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment
Iain | 6 Aug 2010 9:37 am
Perhaps we should take a lesson on unity from the coalition who agree on every policy.
I presume this guy has never been to a political party conference
Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment
Anonymous | 6 Aug 2010 9:37 am
Michael Johnson is clearly highlighting an opportunity here which IFAs should embrace. All is not lost and there is so much more than can be done. IFAs please unite, not just for your sake but also that of your industry. And Alan Lakey's comment is laughable, how do other industries manage to unite. Welcome this opportunity, not think of excuses as to why it should not/cannot be done.
Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment
stephen lyth | 6 Aug 2010 9:41 am
"IFA's will move away from giving advice" and there was me thinking the coalition was going to bring some common sense to the political arena .......oh dear
Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment