Green Paper will "fail to increase pensions provisions"

Seven out of ten IFAs do not believe that the government's pensions Green Paper will increase retirement savings in any way, says quarterly research from IFA portal, the Exchange.

Over three-quarters (77%) of the IFAs questioned say they do not expect to sell the proposed "Sandler suite" of stakeholder products, as 54% of advisers believe with-profits are still a safer form of investment - a surprise find, says the Exchange, given pressures on with-profits funds over recent years and their declining bonus rates plus the move from many providers towards more transparent "smoothed" products.

Other brief questions asked of Exchange members suggest 80% of intermediaries would prefer to use a mutual fund to provide professional indemnity cover, rather than be required to purchase PI insurance.

The Exchange's own evidence suggests advisers are not as keen to rush into the mortgage market as the housing boom might indicate, says Charles Musson, PR manager at the Exchange, because at least 40% of IFAs have not passed the Cemap or Maq qualifications, and only half of those again intend to take them within the next two years.

"First quarter viewpoint results reveal some interesting statistics. For example, despite the recent poor performance of many life offices with profit funds, and the knock-on effect to products such as endowments, it appears that with-profit style products still have a strong future," says Musson.

"And despite the recent buoyancy of the housing market most IFAs are not rushing into mortgage sales with a significant proportion shunning this sector of the market," he adds.

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