Tony's Blog
Middle East 03/03/2011
This is not the first time the Middle East has dissolved into violence and one would have to think it probably will not be the last. At the moment, financial markets are still trying to work out what impact, if any, this latest instalment of problems might have. After all, previous bouts of instability in the region have gone both ways – sometimes they have remained isolated and sometimes they have spread.
The early reaction of the bond and equity markets has been relatively muted. Equity markets have displayed greater volatility, but still within a relatively narrow trading range (with the exception of the Middle Eastern markets, which have seen significant falls). The bond markets have also seen increased volatility, but it has not been profound. Clearly no-one is panicking just yet.
Barclays 02/02/2011
You may have noticed the recent decision by Barclays Bank to stop offering financial advice to individual customers in its bank branches. An overhaul of how financial advice is given, known as the Retail Distribution Review or “RDR” for short, comes into effect at the beginning of 2013 and this has meant the bank’s costs are likely to rise at exactly the same time as it will have to be more explicit about how much that advice is costing its customers.
Given the publicity Barclays’ announcement has received, I thought this might be the perfect moment to raise the subject of RDR with you directly and start to explain what changes you might see as a client.
Higher standards
RDR is specifically designed to improve people’s understanding of, as well as increase their confidence in, the financial services industry. Most significantly, the Review wants to increase the level of professionalism so the minimum qualifications required to give advice are being increased and the way in which you pay for that advice is being altered to ensure complete transparency.
This will affect all financial advisers to an extent. However, the reason for my note right now is that many of the reasons Barclays Bank has given for its decision to withdraw from in-branch advice do not hold true for all advisers – particularly me.
In my practice all of the groundwork has already been done. My continuous professional development means I am already qualified beyond the new minimum requirements. In terms of payment for our services, we started the conversation with most of our clients in 2005 about how the new rules will work – but I am confident we have always been very open with you about the cost of our advice and how those charges are met anyway. While the logistics may change slightly, therefore, nothing the new rules are asking of us should come as a shock.
Further information
Nevertheless, if you have any questions about comments made in the Barclays’ announcement, are concerned about what it means for my relationship with you or would simply like to talk to me about the new rules, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
In the meantime, however, the following link to an opinion piece in this last weekend’s Independent on Sunday says a lot of things much better than I ever could…
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Last Blog updated 03/03/2011