Makes you wonder if we had had more people with more funds how much wider that report might have spread? Toot over - let us get to how we may use this opportunity.
Until this review was announced, we may have faced years of fighting an uphill battle to get change. There is only one thing worse than an opportunity for change, that is: no opportunity.
From the Whitehall perspective regulation has never been about protecting consumers, it is for burying government and regulatory mistakes. What about Equitable Life or RBS or HBoS or PPI or the Pensions Review? Each one can be tracked back to unwise ministerial decisions abetted by poor regulation. All right, those decisions were exacerbated by the industry’s stupidity but the blame should be shared. The current regime makes sure it is not. Whitehall likes the current regime and will try to protect it as will the vested interests that hide in its shadows.
The only people who should matter are the consumers. After all, they are the excuse for the regime to exist so I will put them in the front and centre of all its activity. As agents of the client, we work for the consumer. If it is good for the consumer it will be good for us. We will sit right on top of the moral high ground which is the best seat in the house.
We also need look at costs. Regulation is creating costs well in excess of £1bn a year which begs the question who is protecting the consumer from the regulator? After all, it is the consumer who picks up the regulatory tab.
We need to scale back regulation doing the bare minimum required for consumer protection and we need to find a more equitable way of funding the FSCS. Principally we need a regulator that treats personal provision as essential not something to be discouraged.
Let us be clear. This review will be a battle between those who want to protect consumers, expand advice, increase personal independence and reduce the protection and savings gap and those who wish to continue the current gravy train, expand the influence of big business and make us all dependent on the state for our financial needs.
What challenges does this review present to the adviser community?
Either advisers can unite to use this opportunity to completely reform regulation. To ensure that government policy flies in formation with the 3fs (FCA, Fos, FSCS) and the 3fs fly in formation with each other. The government needs to be accountable to parliament thus avoiding some of the worse abuses of power we have seen of late. That way this can deliver what the government claims it wants, more advice and an expanding sector servicing a widening range of consumers
