FSA

A new member of the AIFA council has pledged to fight the need for advisers to get reauthorisation when changing firms.

The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) is to launch a £4m publicity campaign in the new year to boost consumers' awareness of its activities.

The Association of IFAs (AIFA) has told the FSA there are plenty of "risk indicators" it could use to determine which firms should contribute lower annual fees.

The FSCS has denied claims Lifemark investors will forfeit their rights to compensation if they reject a planned rescue deal for the fund.

The FSA plans to publish a separate consultation paper on how platforms should disclose their charging structures, including fund manager rebates, on top of its second consultation document in February.

Execution-only platforms, such as Hargreaves Lansdown's Vantage, could be subject to the same disclosure terms as those platforms conducting adviser business, the FSA says.

The FSA will allow platforms to facilitate the collection of adviser charges, but says this must be done to the same standard as product providers.

After months of procrastination and frantic lobbying behind the scenes, the FSA has finally unveiled its latest thinking on platforms.

Former Lifemark director Stewart Ford has launched a scathing attack on the FSA in a letter to Financial Secretary to the Treasury Mark Hoban, asking him to "intervene urgently" in the financial restructuring of the troubled fund.

Advisers who wish to be independent post RDR can use a single platform for the 'majority' of their clients if it is in their best interests, the FSA proposes today.