UK regulator to push overhaul of investment-advice industry
Lawmakers opposed to plan, saying it will cost jobs
London: Britain's financial regulator said it will press ahead with an overhaul of the investment-advice industry, rejecting calls from lawmakers who say the plans will cost jobs.
The industry has already begun the changes and 82 per cent of advisers will stay in the trade, the Financial Services Authority said in an e-mailed statement.
In a report published Friday, Parliament's Treasury Committee urged the regulator to delay implementing the retail distribution review until 2014 to allow financial advisers more time to comply with the new rules.
"The FSA is right to reform the financial advice market," committee chairman Andrew Tyrie said. "However, the current timetable for reform risks putting large numbers of experienced financial advisers out of business."
The FSA said it needed to overhaul the sector after mis-selling of financial products eroded consumer trust and "damaged the reputation of the retail investment market." Mis-sold personal pension and endowment policies alone have led to almost £15 billion (Dh88.87 billion) having been paid in compensation, the FSA said.
