Redefining independence

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After a long period of speculation the waiting is finally over. We now know what proposed solutions the industry has come up with to fix the broken retail financial services model identified by the FSA.

As expected, some of the proposed solutions are fairly radical. Or at least they look fairly radical for some. Let me explain. Since June 2005 we have been witnessing a form of ‘re-polarisation’. The distinction between “independent financial advice” and “independent financial sales” has become much clearer. Advisers have chosen to position themselves in one of these two camps. Independent financial advice has started to become the preserve of professionally qualified advisers, charging fees for their services and seeking greater independence from product providers; the so called new ...

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