This report summarises the results of a survey of 233 firms active in providing financial advice on retail investment products, carried out in November 2015. The results from this survey informed the FAMR, the proposals recommended and are being used to inform the FCA’s ongoing supervisory work in this area.
The survey sample was quiite substantial, representing around 21% of the total number of advised retail investment product sales transactions in the population of relevant firms.
There is a lot of really interesting stuff in the report. For example …
“On average, 42% of the sample firms’ revenue from regulated advice services was from advice on investments; 21% was from advice on pension accumulation; 16% was from advice on retirement income; and the remainder was from other advice areas, such as protection products, mortgages, and general insurance. Of the firms in our sample, 80% had retail investments advice revenue of less than £1m in the most recent year; the largest 20 firms had at least £4m revenue; and the largest 10 firms all had revenues over £20m.”
There is also information on …
- types of business;
- customer segments;
- pot sizes;
- firms’ charging models;
- how firms are dealing with pensions reforms.
Pension Transfer charging
Alistair MacDougall Compliance abridged, FCA, P1, Pension, Pension Transfer, PI, transfer
Policy Statement PS 20-06 stated that a firm providing pension transfer advice “… may also not charge less than it would charge for investment advice of the same value”. That seems clear enough, but the rule that gives effect to this statement is subtly different. COBS 19.1B.7 states: “A firm should not charge less […]