http://www.moneymarketing.co.uk/xmlservers/RecentlyCommentedStoriestRSS.aspx http://www.moneymarketing.co.uk/xmlservers/RecentlyCommentedStoriestRSS.aspx http://www.moneymarketing.co.uk/magazine/graphics/logo.png http://www.moneymarketing.co.uk http://www.moneymarketing.co.uk/regulation/charging-transparency-the-case-for-an-fscs-product-levy/1045935.article http://www.moneymarketing.co.uk/regulation/charging-transparency-the-case-for-an-fscs-product-levy/1045935.article So what's wrong with a tax on consumers in return for the protection of a national compensation scheme? We pay taxes for the protection of the NHS, taxes for the protection of the police and the judicial system, taxes for the protection of a whole raft of state benefits when we fall on hard times, taxes for the protection in retirement of a state pension, taxes for the protection of our armed forces and taxes for protection against the failure of a deposit taking institution. So why is this bloke Neale (whose utterances generally make my blood boil) so opposed to the idea of consumers paying a tax for protection against the failure of certain financial products or the providers of such products in which they may invest? It sounds to me like just another mechanism to screw the FS industry ever harder, as if it's some sort of inexhaustible cash cow. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:46 GMT 10 Feb 2012 5:46 pm 0 http://www.moneymarketing.co.uk/regulation/money-advice-service-chief-discusses-ambitious-growth-targets/1045923.article http://www.moneymarketing.co.uk/regulation/money-advice-service-chief-discusses-ambitious-growth-targets/1045923.article “We are very clear that what we want to do is maximise the potential of those people who should be sitting in front of an adviser and are prepared to pay a fee for that.” And just how much am I going to charge for this, now you’ve scared the pants off the customer who now won’t come to me for protection or other basic products because as soon as I walk in the room I will charge them, yeh this sort of information helps everyone. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:49 GMT 10 Feb 2012 4:49 pm 0 http://www.moneymarketing.co.uk/regulation/martin-bamford-is-the-ifa-model-ever-scalable?/1045760.article http://www.moneymarketing.co.uk/regulation/martin-bamford-is-the-ifa-model-ever-scalable?/1045760.article In a December 2009 column in MM (IFA gorillas are a bad joke) I came to the same conclusion as Martin. However my reasons are different. They are a) that multi-office IFAs require more managers so you end up with higher costs and b) people going for size in the IFA business are usually trying to make money rather than provide a good service. I agree we will end up with some big restricted advice businesses, and their out-of-a-box solutions could be ok for a lot of people. Noone has yet convinced me that you can do full-service personalised financial planning on a big scale. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:21 GMT 10 Feb 2012 4:21 pm chris gilchrist 7759 0 http://www.moneymarketing.co.uk/pensions/paul-farrow-abi-should-not-dismiss-damning-napf-report/1045778.article http://www.moneymarketing.co.uk/pensions/paul-farrow-abi-should-not-dismiss-damning-napf-report/1045778.article "The RDR looks more likely to push the general public to their local high-street bank for financial advice than it is to IFAs" We hear this comment quite often but no evidence as to why. I wonder if Paul might describe his reasoning? Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:18 GMT 10 Feb 2012 4:18 pm 0 http://www.moneymarketing.co.uk/pensions/aviva-cuts-with-profits-bonus-rates/1045958.article http://www.moneymarketing.co.uk/pensions/aviva-cuts-with-profits-bonus-rates/1045958.article David Barral "So come on MM, how about evaluating each Investment in a WP fund the same as you would any other. It's what the customer invests, what they get back and how it compares to cash (or under the bed) that counts. " Well said David- MM cant evaluate this invetsment because they do not know how. MM is just becoming a rag with Nic Cicuitti and all. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:39 GMT 10 Feb 2012 3:39 pm 0 http://www.moneymarketing.co.uk/adviser-news/personal-touch-ceo-doug-crawford-steps-down/1045788.article http://www.moneymarketing.co.uk/adviser-news/personal-touch-ceo-doug-crawford-steps-down/1045788.article Would somebody like to explain what these 'broken promises' are? People keep mentioning the shareholders, but as is always the case, no-one is willing to tell the full story. Did he resign or was he pushed? What exactly is going on at PTFS?? Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:20 GMT 10 Feb 2012 3:20 pm 1 http://www.moneymarketing.co.uk/academy202/how-well-do-you-know-(r04)-pensions-and-retirement-planning?/1016535.article http://www.moneymarketing.co.uk/academy202/how-well-do-you-know-(r04)-pensions-and-retirement-planning?/1016535.article Gillian - I think that is being too picky. The answer clearly states TOTAL ANNUAL EARNINGS so it is clear he has no other earnings. I appreciate to be totally accurate the answer should state no other earnings OR INCOME of any kind but adding this sort of information to each question would make the questions too long. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:41 GMT 10 Feb 2012 2:41 pm 0 http://www.moneymarketing.co.uk/investments/european-regulator-warns-on-quality-of-advice-and-products/1045746.article http://www.moneymarketing.co.uk/investments/european-regulator-warns-on-quality-of-advice-and-products/1045746.article A journalist once told me that there were very significant problems in the financial market - you should see the pile of letters we get in every day. In other words his perception of the financial market is strongly influenced by his post, which, I would estimated at 99% negative. What he apparently never asked himself is whether the amount of post he receives is significant relative to the total market. Many are likely to react if they are treated badly, but how often do you get a letter to say"well done". Of course the journalist would probably not keep his job if he were to write only nice things, so there is an incentive to believe the whole world is evil. And so it is with Regulators. More and bigger regulatory bodies means bigger salaries and more prestige. But no one is willing to determine whether poor advice, unsuitable products, and inducements are in fact a material problem. That they exist in beyond dispute. That regulation can materially reduce the incidence of those factors is totally unproven. Indeed there is a strong argument to say that there has been an increase in misdemeanours in direct correlation to the increase in regulation. Of course, this may be co-incidental rather than causal - but it is noticeable that no-one wants to investigate the proposition. In a time of high unemployment it makes far better sense for the employed to create ever more committees to ensure that their cronies are never short of a pay packet or two. So expect a few more Committees to investigate a few more "bees-in-the-bonnet" ideas. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:36 GMT 10 Feb 2012 2:36 pm 0 http://www.moneymarketing.co.uk/adviser-news/cicutti-falling-in-love-with-ifas-again/1045777.article http://www.moneymarketing.co.uk/adviser-news/cicutti-falling-in-love-with-ifas-again/1045777.article The 'independent' v 'restricted' argument is not one between competing classes of adviser. Nor will the 'independent' tag necessarily denote superiority. The majority of advisers who will unwillingly fall into the 'restricted' category will have been pushed there by a regulator determined to rewrite the dictionary. 'Restricted' advisers will still be agents of the client and will still have the capacity to trawl the whole market. If we start arguing over status it is yet another wedge that the vested interests will use to divide us. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:19 GMT 10 Feb 2012 2:19 pm 0 http://www.moneymarketing.co.uk/politics/labour-wants-fca-pricing-reviews/1045785.article http://www.moneymarketing.co.uk/politics/labour-wants-fca-pricing-reviews/1045785.article Since when was the role of the regulator Consumers Champion it is supposed to rule fairly for the benefit of Consumer and the Industry. Does this Leslie know what he is talking about or is he seeking an increased profile for himself? Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:13 GMT 10 Feb 2012 2:13 pm 0