The financial regulator should ease the compliance burden on financial advice firms to allow them to grow and fill the ‘advice gap’, Old Mutual Wealth says.
Responding to the Treasury and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Financial Advice Market Review, the firm says a number of factors that have led to high compliance burden on the advice sector can be overcome without any detriment to the customer.
The Treasury and FCA review is looking at the advice gap, barriers to market growth, inhibitors to consumer demand for advice and the role of technology in advice.
Richard Freeman, chief distribution officer at Old Mutual Wealth, says advisers must be empowered to grow and develop their businesses.
“There are a number of hurdles that stand in the way, particularly the compliance demands and associated costs with which many small businesses struggle.
“We want to encourage the government to work with the industry to find ways to manage the regulatory burden on the sector, to the benefit of both customers and professional financial advisers.”
Among other proposals, Old Mutual Wealth – which has responded to the review jointly with Intrinsic, a financial advice network – also calls for a “foundation tier” of regulated advice to help to close the advice gap for those with limited wealth.
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