IFAs may have to consider a wider range of products than they currently recommend to ensure they meet the FSA's new ‘independence' standards.
Under RDR proposals revealed today, they will only be able to claim this status if they offer advice based on a 'comprehensive and fair analysis' of the relevant market which is 'unbiased and unrestricted'. To meet these requirements, the FSA says IFAs could have to boost their knowledge of products such as ETFs and structured products to ensure they consider all ‘retail investment products' when making recommendations. This follows changes to the definition of ‘retail investment products' to extend it beyond packaged products. The definition will now include unregulated collective...
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