Lowes backs FSA crackdown on investment tools

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Risk-profiling tools are imperfect models which threaten to turn the art of investing into an imprecise science and should only be used as a guideline, says Ian Lowes.

The MD of Lowes Financial Management was speaking after the FSA today warned over-reliance on risk-profiling and asset allocation tools can lead to customer detriment and flawed outputs. Lowes (pictured) thinks the FSA is right to raise concerns about investment selection failures and says advisers using risk-profiling tools merely as part of a "tick box" process need to "open their eyes" if they think such an approach makes for a successful investment strategy. "Investment advice is an art and not a science and recently there has been a push towards using tools which try and turn th...

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