Heroes & Villains of 2010: Platforms

IFAonline goes into Christmas pantomime mode with a light-hearted look at the year’s heroes and villains in the platform world. Join in the fun and if you find yourself shouting out “Oh no he’s not” to one of the personalities we deem a hero then please suggest an alternative.

Heroes

Rory Percival

Who would want to be Rory Percival? Dispatched by the FSA to major industry events to answer a barrage of hectoring questions from disgruntled industry figures and probing journalists, poor old Rory has been well and truly thrust into the limelight this year. Whilst the recent emergence of his beard may be a sign the stress is getting to him, the FSA's conduct and risk division supervisor has nevertheless dealt with the pressure cauldron admirably. Rory is made of tough stuff. He may answer most questions with a straight bat and stick to the script, but he is the FSA's very own Geoffrey Boycott. His safety-first and professional approach has seen him rack up many hours at the media crease. Additionally, Rory always shows a willingness to speak to journalists. Well played Rory.

David Ferguson

Arguably the most outspoken and popular platform figure, Fergie always has something interesting to say and never minces his words. Guaranteed to liven up a potentially dull conference, the wrap community's very own Braveheart has waged a fearless campaign in the name of platform transparency, adviser empowerment and the democratisation of retail financial services. In what is often a heated ideological war between the wrap and supermarket camps, Fergie seems to be a much-liked and respected figure on either side of the divide. After starting out as a trainee actuary, the young Scot decided to unleash his entrepreneurial talents and managed to raise enough capital to set up IFA-owned Nucleus. The rest, as they say, is history.

Malcolm Murray

Not many platform figures remember watching England lift the World Cup in 1966 on home soil. But industry veteran Malcolm Murray (pictured) certainly does and this year he was lifting a trophy of his own when he was awarded personality of the decade at the CWC Research UK Platform Awards. I don't think anyone would disagree with the sliver fox winning this award. One of the most respected and honest figures in the industry, Malcolm's knowledge of financial services knows no bounds and he is a real authority on the platform market. His vast experience gives him an ability to place modern developments in financial services in their historical context. Like Alex Ferguson at Manchester United, he has the passion to go on forever...

Villains

The FSA

The obvious choice, admittedly, but I couldn't think of any individual rogues. Our beloved regulator makes the villain list for its procrastinations over the Platform Consultation paper. Probably the longest delay in the world. The question of whether or not the FSA would proceed with plans to ban fund manager rebates was the talk of the town and even threatened to supersede the debate around whether Wayne Rooney would stay at United. The more we waited the more we speculated, as various industry experts got out their crystal balls. And then the FSA outmanoeuvres us all with that ban on cash rebates. Who saw that one coming?