Turmoil will filter out IFA also-rans - Ferguson

Continued turmoil in the financial markets in 2009 will separate the wheat from the chaff in the IFA sector, Nucleus chief executive David Ferguson says.

The founder of the IFA-owned and controlled wrap says the financial markets will hit a "deep bottom" in Q4 before starting 2010 on a high.

And he says it will be quality advisers that will be best placed to take advantage of improving consumer sentiment in a year's time.

"It is fair to say 2009 will be a challenging year for all in the financial services sector, but I remain confident that those operating at the quality end of the IFA market should be smiling come the end of it, if not before," he says.

"There will undoubtedly be some retrenchment in the advisory market but I fully expect advisers who offer a strong customer-led proposition to thrive as those consumers hit hardest by market events of the last year look to rebuild their financial lives."