10 QUESTIONS THAT DEMAND ANSWERS
1: What benefits can multi-ties, product ties, white labelling or dep-olarising stakeholder products bring to consumers which the current system fails to deliver?
2: How much will any change cost to implement, who will pay for this change and by what method?
3: What possible changes to stakeholder and Isas could be made to increase the efficiency of distri-bution without requir-ing changes to the polarisation regime?
4: What evidence is there to demonstrate a new regime will increase savings levels, especially for pensions?
5: What plans are there for a full public debate before any changes are made?
6: What research has been done to gauge public understanding of the current regime and how quickly they will understand the new set-up?
7: Will a change in the regime risk increasing the incidence of misselling and misbuying and, if so, by how much?
8: Who is ultimately responsible for the decision at the FSA and the Treasury?
9: Is this decision being taken purely on competition or economic grounds, as the London Economics' report suggests, or is the consumer interest to be taken into account?
10: What damage will the options for change, that is, multi-ties, multi-product ties, gap-filling or white labelling, and depolarising Catmarked or kitemarked products do to the IFA sector over the next five to 10 years?
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Specialist help for IFAs
Finance marketing specialists The Insurance Marketing Department is to offer a service to help IFAs wishing to switch their business from commission to fee based. The IMD says the move comes as a result of the 1 per cent maximum charge the Government is set to impose on IFA's commission. The service will include a […]
Abbey launch stakeholder on-line
Abbey National is launching a fully automated on-line facility to enable employers to choose stakeholder pensions for their employees on the internet. Abbey say the move comes as a result of changes in pensions legislation which requires employers with five or more staff to offer pension provisions to employees from next October. Abbey's stakeholder sales […]
ABI asks IFAs to explain with-profits to public
The ABI's Raising Standards initiative is to aim its accreditation for with-profits products primarily at IFAs because its explanation of charges and deductions may prove too complicated for consumers.Life offices which do not offer the with-profits option are claiming that the quality-mark scheme will struggle to make the multi-billion-pound with-profits market transparent to consumers.The concerns […]
Quarterly Macro Insights: October 2016
Loomis Sayles senior global economist James Balfour looks at the three main macro themes evident during October: a world lacking in demand; the strength of global market performance; and the required exit from profits recession. Click here
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FCA pours cold water on reports of widening exit fee ban
It is unclear whether the FCA will consider widening its platform exit fee ban after the regulator poured cold water on reports it was preparing a new consultation. The Financial Times reported this morning that discussion had taken place over a potential paper laying the background for a widening of the proposed exit charge ban […]
Ian McKenna: The missing links in pensions engagement
Too many new initiatives are ignoring the obvious foundation available from which to build on Last month’s Budget documents confirmed the government is supporting the pension dashboard project, setting aside £5m to fund it. But the most significant part of the announcement was that the documents referenced “pension dashboards” – plural, not singular. The clear […]
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