In search of ongoing service in financial advice

It is extraordinary to think that almost a decade since the regulator launched its first discussion paper on the Retail Distribution Review, the RDR is still producing technical problems and fundamental misunderstandings. One of the oddest concerns the notion of ‘servicing’, writes Adam Samuel.

Adam Samuel BA LLM DipPFS MCISI FCIArb Certs CII (MP&ER) Barrister and Attorney may be contacted at adamsamuel@aol.com. His book, ‘Complaints and Compensation: a Guide to the Financial Services Market’, is available from his website, www.adamsamuel.com.

My first academic encounter with the concept of financial advice (in Boston in 1990) involved a suave gentleman explaining to us that the key to success was winning clients’ trust, not making money for them. It was more important to be the guardian of the client’s fur coat than an investment wizard. The Financial Conduct Authority’s TR14/21 referred to research that would probably broadly support that opinion as representing the customer’s viewpoint. It concluded that clients of financial advisers greatly valued the ongoing service they received from their IFAs.