Opinion

It seems at every turn we are faced with new evidence that the standards of financial adviser are lower than customers have a right to expect. Of course, many of the tests advisers are failing are standards imposed by regulation, rather than what the...

It was surprising to read the FSA's warning about over-regulation in financial markets hindering growth, given its recent comments it will goldplate the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (Mifid) where necessary.

I spent more than an hour yesterday dealing with questions from advisers and journalists alike on just one subject. The subject in question was "Is pension term assurance having a detrimental affect on sales of ordinary life cover?"

The ASP hoo-ha that developed following Ed Balls' comments in July at last seems to be dying down. Attention has now turned to the much more important topic of personal accounts.

Judging by the number of responses which have been coming out this week, the consultation on the pensions white paper must be one of the most popular held by the Department for Work and Pensions.

Sales of offshore investments are estimated to have grown in the UK by as much as 50% last year. This makes this market one of the fastest growing markets in UK financial services so it is surprising for me to still come across IFAs who discount it automatically....

Coming across the news on Nationwide and Portman this morning was rather timely.

It always bemused me when Equitable Life was called just that. Synonyms to the name ‘equitable' include fair, even-handed, reasonable, and just. With that in mind, perhaps someone could explain exactly how equitable the Financial Services Compensation...

The internet has changed everything. It has revolutionised the way consumers research, find and apply for products, as well as the way services themselves are fulfilled.

In my first entry to this blog I asked for help to understand my credit rating and confessed I was having difficulty obtaining any credit. My second entry attempted to explain possible reasons why I might be having problems. In my third entry I...