Changing Face of Financial Advice

You may have heard that the financial services industry is currently going through one of the largest reviews of regulation since the Financial Services Act was brought out in 1986.

So how do the proposed changes affect financial advisers and the level of advice you receive?

Well, it all stems from the aim to improve the overall impression of the industry which means the ability to have a transparent process when receiving advice. Receiving independent financial advice is all about being presented with the best solution to your financial needs based on the adviser taking time to research the whole financial market. And this is where the rules are being further hardened and widened to include greater scope of products, so you can rest assured that you are receiving the best advice from the whole of market and also that no ‘product provider bias' creeps into the equation either. So if you are currently receiving advice, it is worth checking to see if there are any restrictions in the solution recommended.  You may recall that recently two major high street banks have announced their intention to reduce their advice offering in light of the new rules.

The new rules will also call for greater transparency in the fee agreement process with the option of product driven commission being removed so it will be easier for you to work out what you are being charged, what you are getting for that and be able to compare that proposition with that of other advisers.

The main importance of these new propositions means that independent financial advice will have higher standards and therefore all financial advisers in the UK will now have to achieve higher minimum qualifications before giving advice, which in turn raises the bars for expertise and professionalism in the industry.

It will be worth consulting with your financial adviser to ensure that you are receiving the most suitable and relevant advice for you.