[Previous entry: "Updated index for: With-profits"] [Next entry: "Updated index for: Endowments"]

03/01/2005: "Updated index for: Regulations"

Commissions: what's not on the menu
Stuart Fowler's FT article (March 2004) gives an insider's view of how the new forms of disclosure about how - and what - IFAs charge will not stop them pulling the wool over customers' eyes, by concealing the vastly higher cumulative cost of commissions compared with aying a fee for advice.

Response to 'Sandler Suite' consultation
Response to the Treasury's Sandler Suite consultation paper seeks to demonstrate why stakeholder products need to be differentiated by being of one or other asset class, not 'managed fund' combinations whose return behaviour and suitability for different tasks are poorly understood by professionals, let alone consumers. Then consumer education can focus on getting people clear about a few simple asset class differences.

Response to FSA 'menu' consultation
Response to FSA consultation paper on commission 'menu' argues the proposals will not achieve their limited objectives nor will they contribute significantly to the original objective of the status distinctions between ‘authorized’ and ‘independent’, based on how commissions were dealt with, as proposed in CP121.

Why regulators should ease up on distributors and get tougher with product providers
In other industries where consumer protection is paramount, such as food and over-the-counter drugs,the emphasis is on regulating manufacturers rather than distributors. This feature on the original No Monkey Business website asks why financial service legislation focuses on sales process instead of product design and why regulators go after small distributors instead of big product providers.