Openwork, the UK financial advisor network, has praised a panel of UK lawmakers’ call to delay rollout of sweeping industry reforms by at least a year, saying fewer businesses will be shut down if the sector has more time to adapt.

Last week, the House of Commons Treasury Select Committee, which has questioned industry figures and regulators about the Retail Distribution Review programme of measures, said the RDR should be implemented a year later than its planned January 2013 start date. The RDR imposes tougher qualifications on advisors and drives out use of commissions on sales to make advice more impartial.

The Financial Services Authority has rejected the committtee’s call for a delay, but yesterday Openwork said a delay made sense and could result in an additional 5 to 10 per cent of advisors remaining in the industry.

“We fully support the TSC’s proposal to extend the RDR deadline. Our initial estimate suggested that 20-25 per cent of advisors would leave the industry as a result of RDR. We believe a 12-month delay could result in approximately 5-10 per cent of additional advisors making the journey,” Mary-Anne McIntyre, CEO at Openwork, said.

In its report, the Treasury Select Committee had said: “We are concerned at any potential loss of competent and experienced advisors from the market. Any restriction of any trade must be carried out with due consideration for the livelihoods of those affected.”