Aifa blasts FSA adviser independence proposal

Aifa has blasted the FSA's proposal that advisers could call themselves independent without consider...

Aifa has blasted the FSA's proposal that advisers could call themselves independent without considering the whole of the market for clients. At today's Retail Distribution Review conference, Clive Briault, managing director for retail markets at the regulator, said: “We might restrict the use of independent to firms with advisers who are predominantly professional financial planners, and whose remuneration is agreed with the customer." It may not matter if such firms only want to offer a limited range of products, as long as it was clear to consumers that independence meant freedom from...