PFS

The Retail Distribution Review has set the clock ticking for those giving regulated advice and sales guidance on retail products, says Matt Smith

Hector Sants' departure as chief executive of the FSA will have no bearing on the RDR, despite it coming just two years before the 2012 implementation deadline, the Personal Finance Society (PFS) says.

Advisers are being warned ‘alternative' assessment methods proposed by the FSA as a different route to QCF level four will be just as rigorous as written exams.

Mark Benson, technical manager at WAY Investment Services, says there are various ways IFAs can prepare for the increase in the minimum qualification level proposed in the RDR...

Charities should be wary of offering free ‘financial advice' and will writing services to people in exchange for legacy donations, says the PFS.

Enforcement of the broadened definition of independent adviser status laid out in the RDR is likely to be "very difficult", says Tenet's distribution and development director Keith Richards.

The Personal Finance Society (PFS) says the growing need to raise standards has helped it gain over 25,000 members since its creation in 2005.

The FSA today says it will "reinforce" its stance on non-monetary benefits, or ‘inducements', offered to advisers by product providers.

A joint two year scheme between the Personal Finance Society (PFS) and Citizens Advice Bureaux (CAB) has been hailed a success.

The Personal Finance Society (PFS) has pledged to raise financial awareness among young people after research suggested hundreds of thousands of school leavers think an ISA is an accessory for an iPod.