10 Nov FSA Claim 91% of Financial Advisers Will be Ready for RDR

The Financial Services Authority has recently unveiled research that they claim demonstrates that 91% of financial advisers will be ready and qualified for the upcoming RDR, up to a level four standard, by the end of 2012. The research has been revealed in the wake of recent Treasury Select Committee concerns that many financial advisers will not wish to update their credentials to bring themselves in line with the RDR, which they claim will wind up harming consumers in the process. The TSC report had claimed "We are concerned at any potential loss of competent and experienced advisers from the market. Any restriction of any trade must be carried out with due consideration for the livelihoods of those affected." However the FSA have claimed that their own figures indicate that nine out of ten advisers are already qualified or plan to be by the time the deadline for the RDR actually arrives. The FSA claimed "We considered in 2008 the possibility of allowing existing advisers, who had not achieved the appropriate qualification, a further two years operating under supervision. "However, we decided not to proceed because we had significant concerns about the effectiveness of firms’ internal supervision of these individuals, based on supervisory experience. "We still have these concerns and so do not think it would be prudent to allow advisers to operate under supervision beyond the RDR deadline." The group have also claimed that they considered exempting advisers of a certain age, however they eventually decided against it. The statement continues "We are sympathetic to this, but it is important for all advisers to demonstrate appropriate levels of professionalism. "We remain of the view that the qualification level should not present undue problems for experienced advisers who have kept their knowledge up to date."