It seems that the Conservative party will stop at nothing to get elected!
Their most recent plan is to reduce the power the Financial Services Authority and the Financial Ombudsman Service have over the financial services industry. Whilst the Tory's have spoken out that the consumer will not be left out in the cold, they believe the Financial Services and Markets Act should be abolished and new legal instruments introduced.
Our View
I bet the 185,000 financial advisers in the UK are already sharpening their ballot pencils! Joking aside, the Financial Services Authority really is a law unto itself. Without doubt, consumers are better aware of the financial arena since the FSA was introduced.
The problem is that it is becoming more and more expensive to fund regulation in the UK and even harder to take action against the FSA. Many industry professionals have no respect for the Financial Services Authority and, in many people's eyes, quite rightly too.
Their offices are in the most expensive part of the country, they spend thousands of fee payers money on 'art' for those offices and many of their employees treat industry professionals with distain.
We believe that the FSA should be far more accountable than is currently the case. They should justify spending on non-regulatory items and have a more open door policy, rather than quoting the rulebook at any opportunity.