Fifteen years ago I did not look like this and I did not have this column – I was far too shy to have a picture of myself in the first issue – or in fact any issue until a few years ago. How times change.
There is a temptation to get sentimental with anniversaries like this as somehow life was so much better when it all started.
Actually, it is much better now than it was 15 years ago because this industry remains one of the most fantastically competitive and innovative anywhere in the economy – perhaps comparable with the food retail sector.
Certainly, when Investment Week started the usual doom-mongers predicted the disappearance of IFAs, to be replaced – if that is the right word – by tied agents linked to estate agencies, or the direct sales forces or tied reps of life companies.
Where did it all go right? Right, that is, if you believe in independent financial advice. I do believe in independent advice, but more importantly I believe in good financial advice being accessible to the whole population, which is something the nation still struggles with.
In my experience – 20 years in the industry – good financial advice depends on the individual dispensing it, not the classification of their status.
For some kind of clients, a simple off-the-shelf product or solution provided by a high street bank or building society, or as is increasingly likely in the next 15 years from a trusted brand such as Tesco or via the internet, will be adequate and valuable.
Do not forget there are still huge swathes of the population who will rely entirely on the state for their retirement provision because they do not have access to financial advice.
The industry must take part of the blame for this situation because it still creates products and services riddled with unnecessary jargon. This acts as a comfort blanket for the industry because it makes many people feel more intelligent, but for a lot of the public makes them feel uncomfortable and nervous of what they are getting.
Most of the fault lies with politicians and the regulators. Politicians are largely not brave enough to consider anything ‘disruptive’ enough to change the landscape. It is 30 years since Mrs Thatcher came to power on a mandate of ‘right-to-buy’, which kick-started the housing market by giving council tenants the opportunity to buy their own homes at a discounted rate.
This was followed by the introduction of personal pensions, which in their own way lead to Peps and Tessas. We could argue all day long about the politics of these changes but what is clear is in the two decades since the industry experienced fundamental change it has affected large parts of the population profoundly.
I would like to think if I am still writing this column in another 15 years – and judging by the value of my pension I am going to need to be – there would be at least one more fundamental change of the magnitude of right-to-buy or personal pensions.
And what is that? Simple – compulsion. Compulsory membership of a private pension arrangement for all those in employment from the first day that employment starts.
Lawrence Gosling is the founding editor of Investment Week. His views are his own, any comments to him at lawrencegosling@sky.com
