The FCA has today unveiled the 16 members of the expert panel to support the Financial Advice Market Review process, juat one of which are from standalone mainstream financial advice firms or representatives of adviser bodies.
Members will support the review in a personal capacity and will contribute with a view to furthering the interests of the financial advice market as a whole.
The panel includes representatives from life insurers, banks, plaforms, asset managers and consumer and small business groups. The panel includes providers of digital advice and guidance propositions such as LV and Nutmeg, and network Intrinsic, but Hargreaves Lansdown is the only large organisation with a mainstream financial advisory arm on the panel. robin Keyte, of Keyte Financial Planning, who oils also on the FCAs small business panel is the only purely advice based traditional firm on the panel. Gill Cardy has formerly practised as a financial adviser.
Intrinsic chief executive Richard Freeman says: “It is vitally important that the Treasury and FCA work closely with financial advisers and other stakeholders to ensure that this review is a success. The Review provides an opportunity to improve consumer access to the benefits of financial advice and I’m pleased to have the opportunity to be involved in that as part of the panel announced today.”
Syndaxi Financial Planning director Robert Reid says: “What you need are people who have actually been practising delivery of financial advice since the pension freedoms came in, so you have an insight into the real probles that real people have.
“This review is being done by providers for providers. It has nothing to do with ordinary peoples’ general advice problems and has everything to do with expanding distribution.
”We will end up with a report that is more about expanding distribution than about ensuring the man and woman in the street get the advice they need.”
