There are interesting times over at the FSA at the moment with the Turner Report essentially announc...
There are interesting times over at the FSA at the moment with the Turner Report essentially announcing wholesale reforms to the way it regulates the banks. No actual details, you understand, just a list of uncertainties. The regulator will be looking at 'macro economic imbalances, financial innovation of little scale and important deficiencies in key bank capital and liquidity regulations'.
While this has little impact on the life of an adviser, it will be a massive job for the FSA and comes at a time when it is employing around 260 more inspectors. These will no doubt be recruited from the sea of unemployed bankers and who will be equally confused by the new regulatory stance announced by Hector Sants, the FSA chief executive.
He has decided that principles based regulation is not the be all and end all after all. It seems the Europeans are not that impressed with the concept and prefer an actual rule or two. Personally I thought the idea of 'principles-based' regulation was a good one, if only the right guidance had been given to smaller firms under regulation. Anyway, it is now all change and welcome to 'outcomes-based' regulation.
No, I don't know either.
Another issue sure to begin bubbling up in this industry is the concept of web optimised products. Last summer, Norwich Union brought in a life policy stripped and simplified for the web which has done well and now Bright Grey has weighed in with a similarly austere critical illness offering.
This raises issues of bypassing advisers and the advice they give, that the public are buying without future recourse to an ombudsman. Equally valid points are that providers' normal offerings are being put up on the web. These products look expensive and without explanation they arguably should not be sold without advice.
On a happier note COVER has won the award for the "Most Read and Relied Upon Publication" at the Lifesearch Awards. Although Lifesearch is only one company, it employs a fair number of advisers and they pick their choice without a shortlist or prompting making it a true vote of confidence. All here at COVER garden shed towers are very grateful.
