Steve Martin: How I'm preparing for the RDR

Preparing for RDR

'What is there not to like' you say, well for a start they are hold advisers to ransom by disqualifying them (average age 55+)until they do yet another load of exams. Threatening our livelihoods by limiting the time in which we achieve this. We are losing our best advisers and the public will be the biggest losers by having to pay chartered advisers a larger fee than ever. we all know the intention of the FSA is to get rid of us, it has been obvious for along time. I'm not complaining about everything about RDR but more about the way it is being implemented and by people who haven't got a clue about what we do and are the type that call our clients customers.

Posted by: Jennifer Nicholls

Unhappy With RDR

My business is also RDR ready. Unhappy with RDR yes I am. 30 years plus as an advisor in the industry and been dealing with some my clients most of that time. Try telling them that they now have to pay fees, Its ok for someone with less than 3 years in business, dont patronise with your glib I ok attitude Mr Martin

Posted by: Unhappy With RDR

Fees?

I like the really clever bit where 1% commission at each stage is changed to a 1% fee and each stage to make it RDR ready.

Posted by: Nigel Tinsdale

1% fees at each stage yes please

RDR ready, 1% at each stage no wonder your happy. The more stages the money, cup of tea and biscuits dear client, that wll be 1%, of here is my invoice that will another 1%. You get 1% out of the man but you will never get the Alticham 1% out of clients at each stage in the real world. RDR ready, oh yes please!!!!!!!!!

Posted by: 1% Fee at each stage

Smug

Smug is not the word!! What about my G60 opension transfer specialist who does nothing but pension transfer business and has done nothing but this for the last 22 years. She has to retrain in areas she will never deal with or lose her license to trade. Get real and don't bother with the "I'm alright Jack" attitude, I for one would not take advice from anyone with a "holier than thou" attitude.

Posted by: Richard Slade Williams

Backwoodsmen

Mr Martin should be commended. May I point out to his backwoodsmen detractors if they spent less attacking a Level 6 qualified adviser they could use the time spent in reaching level 4 which I achieved 16 years ago.

Posted by: Filip Slipaczek

Get Real!

All those who keep on complaining about exams and being forced out of the industry - get real! There has been plenty of time to study, take exams, & improve standards/the way we get paid by clients. The changes are the only way to raise the professionalism in our industry. I really do not get it - RDR is NOT PERFECT but it is a shift in the right direction. I am afraid it is shape up or ship out!!

Posted by: Paul Allen

Smartarse Financial Planning

It starts here! I've got more stars from Teacher than you that means I'm better than you. Regulation and professionalism is required but not overkill.Mr Slipaczek appears to suggest level 6 advisers are beyond reproach and must be right by virtue of qualififcation. By the way how did your son pick the wrong qualification to take at Aberdeen Uni. Ha ha ha

Posted by: Peter Taylor

Unwanted Vitriol

I was totally unprepared for the level of vitriol and personal attack from the majority of comments in response to this article. I support Steve Martin's efforts at getting his business RDR ready, and if the stats are to be believed he is one of the minority not the whinging majority. He states the outcomes that RDR is supposed to bring and supports, them. Well I agree, what's not to like about the outcomes; qualifications, transparency of remuneration and better capitalised firms. You don't have to like to the RDR to agree that these are fine outcomes. Yes there's a lot in the RDR and the way the FSA are going about things that are worthy of fierce debate, but to start pointing your withered fingers at someone who clearly cares about his business and his clients shows a shortsightednes that we could frankly do without. And who says RDR is about fees? It is Customer Agreed Remuneration. 1% at each stage, what's wrong with that. 1% for the planning and 1% for the implementation - 2% sound a lot better than the 7% some of the insurance bind junkies like to take. And 1% to manage the investments and the ongoing advce, well that too is a fair price. It's transparent and easy to understand. Steve - well done.

Posted by: Dennis Hall

Fee Heaven

Yes... RDR has great potential for those with level 6 (where we will all need to be by 2018). I reluctantly took my level 4 this year after 26 years in the business. It took about 4 weeks prep and YES, it was like an "exam for McDonalds" which shows how pointless the money making scheme is. Post RDR... 1% for this, 1% for that.... Get everyone on a platform with 1% annual adviser fee and up to 1% switching fee, the industrious (or "creative") adviser will make a very good living at the client's expense and all in the name of fairness and transparency. One of us is crazy and the other one's insane?

Posted by: Smug Grinner

Like It

Personally I hate the interventionist RDR and everything it stands for - however it is a reality and Steve your fee structure is clear and well articulated - I for one quite like it. There is nothing wrong with 1% review fee in a low transaction environment. That said I think the market will contract and more people will seek to take their own counsel and use Messr's Hargreaves & Lansdown's quasi advice platform instead

Posted by: SkepticCynic

I am RDRy

almost...few gaps to fill. I passed my RO1 on Tuesday to give me the Dip status. My feeling is that all the CII and other providers of 'education' material is utter rubbish. It really is money making scam. I really don't feel it has made me a better adviser. Ok I now know what the EU directives mean. Don't get me started on ethics. How ethical is it that FSA executives gets thousands in bonuses? They who were playing the fiddle whilst the UK banking and financial systems was in meltdown. They have the audacity to make us take exams on ethics !!! But how does that impact on me advising my 20y relationship with a client who now wants to retire and wants advice on the bewildering choice of annuity options. I felt that the FPC I did way back when was fine. Anything above that just seems to be a way of extorting money from us. We who have remained in the Financial Advice profession for more than 3y have got to be doing an excellent job. If we hadn't we would have been found out by our clients and duly fired. Apart from the CII crap the best financial education I have got is by reading the Rich Dad Poor Dad series of books, books by Robert G Allen, and the classic Richest Man in Babylon. The FSA has missed the biggest point of the Retail Distribution Review......the lack of distribution. Back in 1992 when I became the man from the Pru, there were over 250,000 financial sales people in the land. Today less than 25,000. That means there are 225,000 less advisers/sales people going round encouraging the public to save, invest and protect. Is it any wonder that there is a debt black hole in the land. So people lets stop bickering amongst ourselves and go do what we are AWESOME at...making our clients wealthy.

Posted by: Mike Palmer

Well said Mike

I also joined Pru in 1992 and wonder what RO1 was about. I passed it but I know of 6 back offic staff and 2 advisers who failed. The distribution model is totally broken and all the Friendly Society salespeople are now in line for the graveyard alomg with Man from Pru et al.As long as the public can borrow from Wonga .com at 4414% the UK is in great shape.Let's raise a glass to Gordon Brown's monster!

Posted by: Peter Taylor

Level 4 Reading Skills

Mr Taylor, My comments were to commend Mr Martin. What has son got to do with this blog? By the way he is studying Finance - not the wrong degree. Perhaps your reading skills need to be improved, before studying further. Clearly there are some ill-informed, jealous and sad inviduals in this industry.

Posted by: Filip Slipaczek