RDR

An open letter from an adviser to AIFA has reignited the fierce debate over whether higher minimum qualifications are the answer to the industry's problems.

The Association of IFAs (AIFA) should be ashamed - not proud - of its part in reducing the minimum adviser qualification level, according to the managing director of Smart Financial Planning.

The Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) says it is prepared to work with Ken Davy's newly-formed Alternative Assessment Project Group, but only once the FSA has firmed up its evaluation criteria for getting to Level 4 standard.

Existing financial planners may need to re-think their client propositions as the RDR's drive for professionalism closes the gap between them and traditional advisers, threesixty says.

AWD Chase de Vere has appointed Carl Pimlott as head of professional development and training to prepare for the RDR.

The level of payment restructuring still needed to make providers RDR-ready could set back implementation beyond 2012, according to Lighthouse Group executive chairman David Hickey.

Standard Life is set to launch a programme on its wrap to help IFA firms prepare for the RDR.

The Financial Services and Skills Council (FSSC) is undergoing structural change to include specialist sector boards, says interim chief executive Liz Field.

HDC Training is launching a series of study sessions to help advisers prepare for Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) Diploma exams.

Consolidation and business consultancy firm Succession Advisory Services has signed up East Anglia-based IFA Insight Financial Associates as a regional hub.