Regulation: Is it time to go it alone?

Applications for direct authorisation with the FSA are soaring. Why? In a word: control. Who controls the client? Although this will differ from one company to the next, typically the clients belong to the firm, and not their adviser. This is correct in both the legal sense and also how product providers determine ownership. The reality is these clients are yours – you are the one with the relationship and you were the one who convinced them of the need to seek sound financial planning. Try telling that, however, to the advisers of Edward Jones who, after being bought by Towry Law, were ...