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Standard Life (SL) will review the wording of letters sent directly to investors after advisers complained they were incentivizing clients to drop IFAs.
The insurer said it may make clearer to clients the implications of removing an IFA from their records in its correspondence, and said it will review the wording of its letters to IFAs on the matter.
In December, SL denied its letters sent to personal pension clients were an attempt to poach investors from advisers, and insisted the mailout was a data gathering exercise.
The letters asked clients to update their details such as their name and address, and included a tick box to remove their financial adviser from their records if they no longer use that firm's services.
If clients tick this box, their advisers receive a letter from SL which says their client has asked SL "to appoint a new financial adviser".
In correspondence seen by IFAOnline, an SL representative said that this statement will be reviewed as it is misleading.
SL said the statement "we have been asked to appoint a new financial adviser", which is included in letters to IFAs who have been removed from client accounts, is not always correct, as some customers are only confirming that they have no adviser, not that they have replaced their old adviser.
The insurer also said in the letter: "It would be helpful if any future mailing warned customers that their adviser will be removed from their records if they tick the box."
Alex Gordon, executive consultant at IFG Financial Services who complained to SL about the issue, said: "Whilst I would not say the letter is very confusing if it is read and considered carefully, the client will not be aware that we will no longer be able to obtain information on their plan."
Last month, another adviser revealed he had been removed from his client's plans with SL without permission.
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Standard Life v IFA's
If a product provider can take it upon itself to view clients introduced by intermediaries as its own - and write to them about anything they wish, including ditching original advisers - where does that leave advisers who have adopted a product provider wrap platform? Be scared - be very scared!
Posted by: Julie Wilson
Standard Life v IFA's
Can anyone remember when Standard Life Bank started up as a subsidiary of Standard Life and paid trail commission on deposit savings accounts. A few years later they decided to stop paying the trail. I am afraid they have previous form .
Posted by: Gary Capstick
Standard Life Bank
Mr Capstick, I most certainly do remember. I personally introduced about £1M to them. Originally they paid 0.2% then reduced it to 0.1% and then when they reached critical mass dropped the commission and the advisers altogether. Standard Life are not the only company to adopt this somewhat less than subtle method of removing the original IFA. Be on your guard!
Posted by: Alan Harris
Standard Life agencies
How innapropriate and unprofessional that Standard LIfe should write out to all their clients - in this way. It does demonstrate the lack of integrity and lack of treating cusotmers fairly by Standard Life. It is interesting that Standard Life also runs the Fidelity Funds pensions, bonds etc for Fidelity. Does this mean Standard Life controls Fidelity advisers clients ?
Posted by: Ian Lees
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Half-hearted at best
Why not just remove the question. There is still nothing that I can find in TCF regs that allow a provider to question the relationship a client has with an adviser. I still firmly believe that where an adviser introduces business, the policyholder is a primary client of the adviser and a secondary client to the provider. At the end of the day the adviser provides NOTHING MORE than a 3rd party admin/investment service via the adviser.
Posted by: Mike Inkley