The Retail Distribution Review will not open up fresh opportunities to corporate intermediaries to deliver pared down advice to employees, says Andrew Fisher, chief executive of Towry Law.
Speaking at the Centaur Conferences Retail Distribution conference in London yesterday, Fisher said corporate IFAs and EBCs should steer clear of offering ‘guided sales’ or ‘assisted purchases’ to rank and file staff because their advice needs would be too complex to allow them to be dealt with in a short period of time.
The FSA is set to publish its interim report on the RDR by the end of April but says that its original proposal for primary advice may now evolve into guided sales or assisted purchases.
Fisher said that while assisted sales presented a huge opportunity for banks, many IFAs would have trouble meeting the new standards required to stay independent. He predicted those advisers incapable of raising their game would return to direct sales forces of providers.
“IFAs should not be dabbling in the workplace space. Trying to give people a little bit of advice and selling them an Isa is not a sensible way to operate. These people have complex needs that you can’t identify without a full fact find,” said Fisher.