Wendy SpiresThe UK advisory industry is broadly ready for the implementation of the Retail Distribution Review, but an eleventh-hour consultation paper on discretionary fund management services could pose a serious setback for a number of firms, Bovill consultant Andrew Garner told WealthBriefing in a recent interview.
The RDR comes into force on 31 December, and since the package of reforms was first announced in June 2006 consultation papers and guidance have come thick and fast from the Financial Services Authority. Now, the industry is holding its breath for one final missive from the regulator on DFMs.
With the RDR deadline looming, the industry is rightly concerned about the as-yet unissued new consultation paper, said Garner, noting that the paper was actually expected months ago. In fact, there has been no firm date set for its release, no doubt adding to the uneasiness firms will be feeling.
“The Association of Private Client Investment Managers and Stockbrokers [the trade body] had said the paper was scheduled for August, but the FSA is now saying ‘early Autumn’,” said Garner.
“The problem is that DFMs are going to have a very short lead time to adjust their business models, even if the paper was published tomorrow,” he said.
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