Investment Association response to the joint FCA/HM Treasury review of the financial advice market

14 March 2016

Mr Lipkin of IMA recognised the need to move beyond a regulatory environment in which the boundary between advice and guidance is confusing even for the industry.

The Investment Association welcomes the top five points from the FAMR response:

• Consultation on the regulation of advice and the provision of guidance
• New language to help consumers understand the difference between advice and guidance
• Creation of a pensions dashboard
• Recognition of the importance of digitally-supported delivery of advice and guidance
• Recognition of importance of behavioural tools such as nudges and rules of thumb

Jonathan Lipkin, Director of Public policy at the Investment Association, comments: “Today’s report provides an important foundation to build greater consumer confidence and encourage people to save for their futures. Two important themes throughout the recommendations are clarity and accessibility. The IA has long supported the development of the pension dashboard and the promotion and use of ‘rules of thumb’ – tools like these can in different ways have a significant impact on decision-making.”

“While there are no ‘silver bullets’, the proposed consultations on the definition of advice and the regulation of guidance offer an opportunity to develop a much clearer framework to help savers. The future of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) is an important area for consumers and industry. We note the recommendations laid out on reform to the FSCS’s funding, but we believe that more needs to be done to ensure consumers are fully informed about the protections that are available to them through the FSCS – this should be a major area of focus for the government and regulators.”

Full press release

© IMA