The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has asked UK financial advisers if they think the criteria they must meet to call themselves independent is out of sync with Europe-wide definitions.
The regulator has "completely messed up the definition of independence", said professional connections support organisation SIFA, as it claimed 95% of solicitors would still chose IFAs over restricted advisers.
How the FCA showed it is fitting in with what goes on 'in real life' at adviser firms
Enough is enough: What ‘independence’ really means
"Independence is a state of mind - you just need to keep an open mind and consider all the options", the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said as it summed up the findings of its latest post-Retail Distribution Review (RDR) research.
The vast majority of IFAs are acting within the guidelines of independence as laid down following the Retail Distribution Review (RDR), a study by the regulator suggests.
Wealth management group Succession is launching a ‘lite' version of its platform for clients with less than £50,000 of investable assets.
What the public really thinks of advice labels
Chris Smallwood, the chief executive of Openwork-owned national IFA 2plan, has called on the regulator to crack down on what he said were 'misleading' terms used by some restricted advice firms to describe their services.