Zurich still wants to sell Openwork stake
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Openwork chief executive Martin Davis has revealed Zurich is still aiming to sell its 25 per cent stake in the network.
In an interview with Money Marketing, Davis also admitted he did not believe all of Openwork’s 1,200 advisers will be fully qualified in time for the 2012 RDR deadline.
He says: “Zurich made it very clear it wished to move Openwork from a tied agency to an independent business. The business environment has changed dramatically and our plans have had to be finetuned but it still wants to be sure the business is ready to be independent and I believe it still wants to sell the business as they stated in 2005.”
Davis warns that there are not enough exam sittings to get all advisers ready in time for the RDR.
He says: “We know there are not enough courses planned to get everyone through the exams by 2012. We will not have the problem where we do not have enough qualified advisers to do business but not all of our advisers will necessarily be qualified in time.”
Davis predicts that as many as half of all IFAs may opt to move into restricted advice. “If the rules are where we think they are going to be, there will be quite a big shift into restricted advice,” he says.
