Skills Council says RDR may not improve consumer outcomes
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The Financial Services Skills Council is concerned the RDR will not satisfy its objective of achieving good consumer outcomes if not enough advisers remain in the industry.
The FSSC says it supports the move towards professionalism but is wary that an exodus of advisers ahead of the RDR deadline, combined with a potential shift away from providing advice to the mass market, will end up being damaging for consumers rather than benefiting them.
FSSC director Sarah Thwaites says: “Whilst all of us would agree that a more professional approach can only be of benefit, let us not lose sight of the consumer in all of this.
“The danger is that if too few existing advisers meet the new qualifications level, or the industry does not find it cost-effective to offer advice to the mass market, the very important aim of achieving good consumer outcomes may be lost.”
The comments come ahead of the House of Commons debate on the RDR on November 29.
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Readers' comments (3)
Julian Stevens | 29 Nov 2010 10:08 am
The FSA knows this full well but, as we've seen, despite having come within an ace of scrapping the RDR, has decided to plough ahead regardless due to fear of the ignominy of losing face.
And what about the vastly increased estimate of the costs of implementation, originally £600m (which was bad enough) but now between £1.4 and £1.7 Bn? No word from the FSA on that so, once again, we may conclude that the FSA's Cost:Benefit Analyses are nothing but a sham. The FSA has in effect merely shrugged its shoulders and declared Oh well, the train's already left the station so stop whingeing and just get on with it. So much for constructive engagement with the industry that the FSA claims to regulate. There's probably something about "constructive engagement" on the FSA's website, though right now I really can't be bothered to try to find it. What's the point?
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Derek Gair | 29 Nov 2010 12:53 pm
Oh Dear Oh Dear Oh Dear
I should have said 'I told you so' but do you know what, I've just lost the will to live !
Whats the point of RDR ?
For those that did not know it already, this has now descended into the stuff of farce and nonsense.
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Anonymous | 29 Nov 2010 1:18 pm
Why is the RDR going ahead if its main aim is achieving good consumer outcomes, which it clearly will not?
The real reason must be the demise of the IFA which Hector admitted last week.
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