A conflict of interest

The expression ‘conflicts of interest' is very much used in financial services and the discussion about what it actually constitutes is gathering momentum.

The move towards advice being paid for via fees as opposed to commission has been driven over the years by what some describe as a conflict of interest. The consumer lobby – in the form of Which? or national newspapers – have argued over the last three decades commission creates a bias in the advice advisers give and is therefore a conflict of interest. That lobby has largely won the argument as a major tenet of RDR is to push advice remuneration towards being charged in a fee rather than commission format. Of course, commission will not be outright banned under the RDR regime, but for m...