Qualifications biggest adviser concern in 2010

Over a quarter of advisers consider the RDR proposal to enforce a new qualification standard will be biggest issue facing the IFA industry over the next 12 months, research suggests.

A report from Opinium Research reveals the majority of IFAs are confident they will have adopted the new qualification standard and adviser charging by 2012, with over half of respondents certain they will have attained the qualification within the deadline.

However, a minority of IFAs say they have no plans to adopt it the new standard.  Although they did not provide any explanation it is likely these advisers plan to retire.

Of those who plan to achieve the QCF level 4 standard and use a fee-based remuneration model, 69% are at least halfway towards adopting it completely, with 13% operating it fully already.

Matthew Webster, Associate Director, Opinium Research says: "Despite some apprehension, our research shows that the majority of IFAs say they will adopt the new adviser charging model by 2012 and would have attained their qualification standard by this time.

"However, there remains a minority that say they don't plan to adopt the model or move to the higher qualification threshold, perhaps suggesting that they may leave the IFA industry altogether or are hoping that the RDR won't happen."

The survey polled 210 IFA members.