What the FSA's platforms paper means for client relationships

The FSA’s policy statement on platforms, published this month, sets out various widely commented-upon proposals aimed at regulating platforms so as to achieve the FSA’s RDR objectives. The key prohibitive policy measures are to ban payments from product providers to platforms and cash rebates from product providers to consumers to fund adviser charges. When it comes to advised sales of financial products through platforms, the regulatory spotlight still shines brightest on the adviser, who remains responsible for suitability of advice and for his own decisions as to which platforms to pu...