The Association of Independent Financial Advisers is warning that Treasury proposals that allow employers to provide unregulated financial advice could lead to mis-selling. The recent pre-budget report included plans to allow employers to provide advice to their staff on work related financial matters, but the association believe that the proposal, which is part of the Governments 10-point plan to modernise financial services regulation, could generate misselling if not monitored closely.
In plans to reform the Financial Services and Markets Act, the Treasury also proposes allowing the Financial Services Authority to avoid consulting on rules where it considers a delay would affect the interests of anyone affected by the rule, and where it considers the changes would have only a minor effect. Under present rules, the Financial Services Authority can only miss out consultation if they consider that a delay would damage consumers.
Our view
The Treasury and this Government are clutching at straws in trying to get people to save. Yet they never talk to the workers at the 'coal face' i.e. honest, hardworking advisers such as ourselves or the general public. People don't save because they want to have a good time, because contracts are too complex and because they do not understand enough. Employers are just as bad! It would be the 'blind leading the blind' - another joke!