Many a slip....

....between cup and lip? "the RDR was about turning that around" Would anyone be forgiven for thinking that they ran rings round you Chris??

Posted by: Evan Owen

Lip Service

RDR was always going to be detrimental to consumer access to advice and I assumed that those who supported the RDR were just paying lip service, when they mentioned it as a goal. Perhaps we need to be making the next plan ourselves and put it forward to the FSA? If a job's worth doing...

Posted by: Mark Green

Infighting

There is infighting in every profession and industry. It is just that some are represented by skilled people who are able to see beyond that and present the common ground in a compelling fashion to regulator and Government alike.

Posted by: Nick Bamford

Common ground Nick?

Where is this common ground? The blogs are covered opinions including yours and they are different. The only common ground is that there isn't any!

Posted by: Evan Owen

Best of Luck to All

The best of luck to Chris Cummings in his new job. I think that he has done a good job in what is a difficult industry pulled between the salesmen and the advisors, those who have no qualifications but do a good job and those who see qualifications as the 'b' all and end all of life. He is right when he talks about the infighting, we have never spoken with one voice and are unlikely to in the future. Not until all the past baggage has gone and we have a complete new breed of advisors (be they good or bad) will the industry speak with one voice. Too many vested interests! As someone has already said, you only need to read the blogs to see this.

Posted by: Bob Donaldson

IFAs have a common ground

Nick is right, Evan is wrong. There is common ground. The common ground is pure, unadulterated independence. The infighting mainly occurs when this is put to one side and to my huge regret this seems to have happened recently with the official defence of what is euphemistically called Restricted Advice. There IS only one type of advice – Independent – the rest is selling. That is our common ground and I do hope we have the gumption to stick with it.

Posted by: Harry Katz

Interfering, self-opinionated people!

Just about every blog and newspaper seems to have an opinion by the same people! Do they ever work? Know what I mean Harry!

Posted by: Bob West

Infighting?

Harry Katz is spot on when he says there is independent advice and the rest is selling. Mind you is it any wonder there is so much infighting in this profession when most people are product floggers and have anything but a decent education? I've noticed that education tends to calm the ego. What Chris might have been implying is that there are just too many egos out there.

Posted by: Harry