Quarter of firms yet to begin RDR assessment - AIFA

A quarter of financial advice firms have yet to even begin assessing their businesses against proposals in the RDR, research from AIFA suggests.

According to the study, only three out of four firms have assessed their business against the proposals or intend to do so soon.

Only one in 10 said they were already RDR compliant when the new proposals were published, the NMG-conducted study found, while one in eight (12%) say they do not intend to go through this process at all.

Of those who have reviewed or are undertaking a review of their business, over a third (35%) intend to make greater use of web-based platforms and advice programmes to get through transition.

Just under a third (31%) will choose to go it alone and use only internal resource.

"We appreciate the size of the current challenges faced by the IFA profession but are pleased to see the positive steps being taken by the majority to ensure a profitable future," AIFA director general Chris Cummings says.

The research also shows over a quarter (30%) believe the biggest business challenge for IFA firms will be changing the pricing and charging models.

A fifth (20%) believe that defining and changing their client propositions will be the biggest challenge.

AIFA says to help firms adapt to future challenges, it has set up an online business academy, AIFA FFWD, with the support of Skandia. It is free to AIFA members.

"The AIFA FFWD academy has been specifically designed to help IFA firms survive and thrive in the future," Cummings says. "The business academy will help firms to develop a vision for the firm, segment existing clients and determine how to charge different services."

For more information on AIFA FFWD, click here.