Paul Miles: Declarations of independence

One of the things that has never sat right with me in financial advice has been the conflict of interests in the recommendation of funds by fund rating firms. Surely it is much better to use a firm that is truly independent and sits on the same side of the fence, ensuring there is no compromise in terms of product selection? Putting the client outcome and mandate first when selecting a fund gives the best probability of success. This ensures the fund is used as intended - based on a client mandate or outcome - as opposed to being selected based on relative peer group performance or a sta...