RDR

Offshore bond providers are shifting their new business focus away from jurisdictions such as the Isle of Man and towards European jurisdictions, Epoch Wealth Management has said.

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has published a guide to preparing for the retail distribution review (RDR), ten months before the reforms coming into place.

The Association of Mortgage Intermediaries (AMI) is to establish itself as an independent organisation after nine years as part of the Association of IFAs (AIFA).

An FSA promise to re-visit the absence of a time limit on complaints in financial services "seems to have slipped off the radar", according to MP Mark Garnier, who has pledged to take the regulator to task on the issue.

The FSA began its final round of RDR surgeries last week, less than a year before full roll-out of the new rules. But surprises continue to crop up. Alasdair Pal spoke to a few of the early attendees…

The FSA has warned advisers about "conflicts of interest" arising from holding shares in platforms.

The number of people earning more than £100,000 per year who use financial advisers has halved since 2008, according to AT Kearney.

In response to an FSA consultation paper on the post-RDR treatment of legacy assets, Cofunds’ managing director of operational services, Stephen Mohan, fears the regulator’s failure to issue new rules may harm consumers.

Three advisers explain what they are (or are not) doing to educate clients about certain changes due at the end of the year.

Every adviser will need a statement of professional standing (SPS) - effectively a practicing certificate for financial intermediaries - to continue seeing clients from 1 January 2013. But what exactly are they? And will clients care?