Advisers say FAMR won't reduce the advice gap

Royal London argues that as access to advice improved and became more affordable, as FAMR set out to achieve, these advisers should expect to see more customers using their services.  However two-thirds (66%) of advisers did not believe that the FAMR proposals, as they stand, would improve their business.

The overwhelming finding from the poll is that ‘streamlined advice’ should be impartial, with over three quarters (76%) of respondents agreeing with this statement.

Fiona Tait, pension specialist at Royal London, commented:

“Delivered at key stages in an individual’s life, impartial advice has proven its worth again and again. Some consumers, such as high net worth individuals, are well served by access to impartial advice. For others there needs to be a clear distinction between the services offered by impartial advisers and the ‘advice or guidance’ services offered and proposed by some product providers and banks. The positive impact of having access to truly impartial financial advice needs to be better communicated and understood.”