We're not all mugs

Alan is not completely daft. He knows that this is a pretty futile action. His donation is more of a gesture than anything else. Why do journalists think this is a U turn? This has been his stance all along. Reporters – please pay attention. However many of us are not into gesturers and why Alan thinks that AIFA is prepared to chuck money away on a futile gesture is beyond me. You need to read Adam Samuels's posts elsewhere. When it comes to Regulatory matters he is (in my view) about as near to the Delphic Oracle as you can get. In brief he is unimpressed with RL. I am too, but it is based on my own (not too expert) knowledge. I was bolstered when I saw Adam’s view and it very much endorses my gut feeling.

Posted by: Harry Katz

Battles versus wars

I think much like Alan on this in that I think it unlikely we can beat the system established by the F-pack as far as who meets FSCS levy monies on the Keydata issues. Sometimes however you have to be willing to argue the case to show it to be wrong and to prove a willingness to contest a battle which may be lost in order to win a war. The Longstop issue IS much more important than the FSCS levy, but the Keydata issue is here and now and could get worse (and I hope it does) as worse will mean that the FSCS accepts Keydata had a civil responsibility to investors (and the FSA had a responsibility to regulate the firms it authorised which included Keydata) and starts paying out not just for the Tax claims, but also for the other losses it now looks likely clients will have if the current liquidity problems continue. I can understand why the Longstop is not a major issue for AIFA as to an extent, whilst it is a problem for Ltd companies, it is nothing like as much of a problem for them as sole traders and partnerships. My firm is a Ltd company, so I do have the corporate veil to protect me, but it does mean a stale claim which under common law could be rejected out of hand, could put any Ltd company out of business and the liability then falls to the FSCS i.e. those of us remaining in business, so if you follow that train of thought, even AIFA needs to be more focused on the longstop issue (which has gone very quite since for some reason)

Posted by: Nameless

£500 for lost causes

I have a team of 11 overpaid wasters who are pointless and have no chance of succeeding. Can I have 500 of your lovely English pounds please?

Posted by: Mr F Capello

U Turn?

In order for someone to make a U turn they would need to be travelling in a particular direction - not standing still with heads in sand.

Posted by: Rudderless

Clarification

"A lost cause" is too strong a term. It is true that Adcviser Alliance considers the chance of success to be low, this is validated by the fact that the FOS has won every one of the twenty plus JR's which have thus far been launched against it. Logic and common-sense do not figure within the remit of a Judical Review thus the arguments revolve around legality and acts according to the rules. Nonetheless, there is a slim chance and, whilst Adviser Alliance is a fledgling organsiation with limited funds, there does come a time when you ahve to chase lost causes that might just turn out to be unexpected victories. We understand AIFA's stance and have no argument with their logic, we simply feel that supporting fellow advisers in their quest for justice should involve more than just words.

Posted by: Alan Lakey