Sesame restricted panel providers deny breaching FCA inducement rules

All seven product providers featured on Sesame's restricted advice panel have denied breaching the regulator's rules on inducements, after the network was fined £1.6m for selling spots to the highest bidders.

The spotlight has swung onto Aviva, Zurich, Prudential, Aegon, LV=, Scottish Life and Partnership, after the UK's largest network of financial advisers was found by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to have set up a pay-to-play scheme, that "undermined the ban on commission payments brought in by the Retail Distribution Review (RDR)". The scheme meant the range of products recommended to Sesame clients under its restricted focussed advice service was influenced by the amount product providers were willing to pay Sesame for certain services, the FCA found. Sesame promoted its own c...