Chartered Financial Planner

In some ways it is easy to sit back and think does this matter? In reality I think it does. It is just another way that the banks get away with murder and are allowed to mislead clients. In my experience some clients really are that nieve and will be suckered in by this. I'm also bemused that the FSA hasn't stomped all over the Nat West for promoting a proposition i.e impartial advice that it quite clearly can't deliver. I know the Nat West is all but nationalised but I don't think Alistair Darling and Gordon Brown see it being staffed by civil servants offering a free impartial advice shop. Surely it is a very fine line that differentiates between impartial and independent, do they not go hand in hand? There is currently pressure from the Solicitors Regulation Authority and hopefully the ICAEW (soon) for solicitors and accountants to clean their acts up. Why can't we lead the way and get the FSA to stop this nonsense. Would the FSA allow a firm of tied (Zurich/ St. James' Place) advisers promote themselves as impartial advisers without giving the caveat before any discussion takes place that they might be sold one of their own products? FSA caught asleep at the wheel (again) and it is left to the Advertising Standards Authority to act as our industry policeman.....you couldn't make it up, could you?

Posted by: Phil Stevenson

IFA

Are we really surprised at this? Is this not further testament to the fact that when it comes to taking on the banks, organisations such as the ASA, as well as the financial bodies, simply don't have the stomach to do the right thing and they back out at the first opportunity, without so much as anything even approaching a logical reason why. Not even a body like FOS can get any joy when they report record complaints against the banks...yet if it was an IFA firm, i.e., an easier target to hit, there would be the proverbial ton of bricks decsending at a rate of knots onto the head of the errant advertiser....plus a fine wherever possible....a bit like the school bully who only picks on the little ones because he can...when it comes to taking on the big guys, he meekly backs off. Consumer protection from those charged with it? What a laugh...it would be interesting to know how many of the ASA board are Natwest / RBS shareholders....

Posted by: PAUL FIELDING