The well-off are receiving tax breaks on pension contributions worth on average 20 times those of ordinary workers, according to reports.

Adviser membership body, the IFA Centre, has launched a directory of its members which aims to help consumers find independent financial advisers across the UK.

Symponia, a membership body which provides information around managing care fees, is to launch four sister companies offering a wider range of services.

Fee-charging debt management plans (DMPs) are more likely to fail than free schemes, according to research.

Professional services firm threesixty has launched a suite of services aimed at businesses looking to buy up IFA firms.

RSM Tenon has reduced its client bank by almost 70% as part of its segmentation process in the run up to the implementation of the Retail Distribution Review (RDR).

GOING GLOBAL

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has fined two firms a total of £250,000 for failing to provide it with accurate and timely transaction reports.

The seemingly "endless" list of industry qualifications such as the ISO22222 and the BS8577 are becoming a "cash cow" and are "unnecessary", says one adviser.

Brewin Dolphin has announced that David McCorkell, head of investment management, is to retire from the company.