Tim Sargisson: The Covid Curse of independent advice

In 1988, the Financial Services regulator introduced rules that advisers either had to be classified as 'independent' or 'tied'. Tied advisers were typically associated with an institution such as a bank or insurance company whose products they would be likely to recommend. As an independent adviser there was a sense of pride associated with offering ‘best advice' across a wide range of companies to clients. I well remember those early years. Moseying across Finsbury Square en route to The Brewery to hear the latest presentation by a well-heeled fund management group. Maybe Mercury As...