the state ofindependence

A radical overhaul in the way intermediaries deliver financial advice is looming, after the FSA released a range of proposals as part of its Retail Distribution Review. In seeking to provide greater clarity to the consumer on the advice they are getting, the regulator has come up with a hierarchy of three tiers of advice - provided by professional financial planners, general financial advisers and primary advisers. In this situation, professional financial planners could not take commission but could call themselves independent, while general financial planners lose the ability to call ...