Sesame network loses 67 firms over restricted move

Carmen Reichman
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A total of 67 of Sesame's near 2,200 member firms have decided to leave the network following its decision to operate as a restricted advice business, group chairman John Cowan has said.

One of those businesses has decided the leave the wider Sesame Bankhall Group (SBG), with the remainder electing to join support services outfit Bankhall as directly-authorised IFAs. The network announced in January it would not allow its advisers to offer non-mainstream products as part of its decision to offer restricted advice. Sesame said the higher risk products were not a "relevant requirement for the vast majority" and offering them only increased the likelihood of recompense. Earlier on Tuesday, Friends Life announced a "disappointing" loss of £19m for SBG in 2013. Cowan...

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