PROVIDERS and advisers are calling on the Financial Services Skills Council to create an exam specifically for corporate intermediaries if they are to be brought within scope of the Retail Distribution Review.
Advisers say the existing exams are only suitable for those giving face to face advice to individuals and are entirely pointless for anybody advising businesses.
Michael Whitfield, chief executive of Thomsons Online Benefits is proposing to create his own syllabus for his team of advisers who will, under current proposals, be required to take the new exams even almost all of them never give face to face advice.
Scottish Life is backing Whitfield’s call for a corporate component to the exams. Scottish Life business development manager Fiona Tait says the provider backs the principle of exams for all corporate advisers but agrees with Whitfield that the content should be made more appropriate to the type of work that business to business advisers undertake.
Under current proposals all advisers giving individual advice are required to hold level four qualifications covering two components. All advisers will have to cover personal tax, investment risk and principles and financial services, regulation and ethics
But Whitfield argues that the second component is far less suited to the corporate IFA, covering individual advice on pensions, protection and general planning, and including issues as far from corporate advice as estate planning. The stockbroking community has secured an alternative second component that covers securities and derivatives.
Whitfield says: “Thomsons did just two pieces of face-to-face advice last year, yet my firm’s consultants have got to learn all about estate planning. We need something that will teach staff how to be a good corporate adviser. I proposes to create my own and try to get the CII to approve it if no one else will.”
Tait says: “We support the principle of exams but it does make sense to have something more targeted to what corporate advisers will actually be doing.”
Fay Goddard, chief executive of the Personal Finance Society says: “I have sympathy for the corporate adviser community but there is no chance at this stage of a change. It is like being a lawyer – you have to get a background in areas that you might not necessarily practice in in future. The qualification standards are at the consultation stage and I would be surprised at changes being made to accommodate such a small community at this stage.”