Economist Michael Johnson found himself in the sights of the adviser community last week when he wrote the "IFA label represented an irretrievably damaged brand".
His paper, Put the Saver First, argued advisers should forget about “advice” and focus solely on “financial planning” instead. The report, reviewed by Conservative and Labour peers, was written to catalyse a savings culture in the UK – a shift it argues is currently impeded by an underperforming and partially “dysfunctional retirement savings industry”. Johnson argued the UK’s household savings ratio (6%) was low compared with the European average (15%), in part due to widespread public enmity towards the financial services industry “where remunerations have been excessive and returns...
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