Andrew Fay gives his views......Andrew Fay gives his views....
MoneyMarketing
Andrew Fay, chief executive, Cavanagh I would like IFAs to realise the value in long-term income and in improving the quality of service offered to clients but I fear that there will still be too much of a focus on short-term needs as opposed to long-term planning. I hope that providers and IFAs continue to be more aligned in a long-term working relationship that focuses on value for clients, providers and IFAs but this may take too long for the industry to truly benefit. I would also like pension investors to be able to see the wood for the trees and grasp the value of current offerings to provide income in retirement. Until advisers stop product-selling and take into account properly the right advice service, our industry will not be able to claim to be professional as a whole and be truly appreciated by our clients. Cavanagh has hopes and fears for regulation, especially in regard to TCF. We hope that any new regulation will meet the objective of helping to develop the sector in a fair and professional manner but there are fears that any new regulation could engulf the industry in more red tape. My concern is that the Chancellor's continued legislation will further harm the simple request of consumers for transparent and fair financial advice. IFAs need to recognise that the changes made over the last decade were required and have resulted in the opportunity we now have for a very exciting future. But I fear that too few IFAs are going to be able to make the right business model work for their companies, thereby holding the sector back as a whole.
We hope that in 2007 and beyond that more will be done to bring new blood into the industry to give the sector growth opportunities and widen the availability and pool of professional advice.