D-day looming for PTA ruling

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) will in two weeks announce whether pension term assurance (PTA) will be sold under ICOB rules as well as COB rules. FSA spokesman Robin Gordon-Walker has revealed the decision will be taken at a board meeting on Thursday 23 February. If the regulator decides PTA will be sold under both regimes, it would mean protection intermediaries, who are regulated under ICOB legislation, could also advise on the product. That would be a great relief for the protection industry as PTA, despite its name, is a pure protection product.