Regulatory concerns leads Skandia to abandon plans to buy stakes in IFAs

Skandia has abandoned plans to buy small stakes in IFA firms following conversations with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in which the regulator said it was "uncomfortable" with the idea.

Skandia had previously talked about taking 5%-10% stakes in independent financial adviser businesses. However the regulator has quashed the idea. "The FCA wanted to know more about the correlation [of buying stakes in adviser firms] with distribution. The regulator was uncomfortable with us acquiring a stake and having influence over distribution," a Skandia spokesperson said. Speculation last year suggested Skandia was in discussions with Keith Carby's Caerus to buy a stake in that business, though Carby denied this to IFAonline, saying in October the firm was "not in exit mode". ...