The Retail Distribution Review (RDR) will significantly change the way you receive, and the way we deliver, financial advice from 2012. Read the main points here:
Executive Summary 
The RDR was launched by the FSA (our regulators) in June 2006. Cockburn Lucas broadly welcomes the RDR and supports the view that our profession needs to be more transparent in its dealings with retail customers. We share the belief that if Financial Advice is truly going to be Independent, removal of commission bias is a fundamental requirement in this regard.
Our business has been built on many of the strong ethics and values the RDR represents, and we are ready for this new challenge to our operational requirements as we continue to provide you with whole-of-market Independent financial advice that works.
Some of the RDR’s key points are summarised below:
- Independent advice must be truly independent and reflect investors’ needs.
- People can clearly identify and understand the service they are being offered.
- Commission bias is removed from the system, and recommendations made by advisors are not influenced by product providers.
- Investors know up front how much advice is going to cost and how they will pay for it.
- All investment advisors will be qualified to a new, higher level which is regarded as equivalent to the first year of a degree.
“The RDR is about regaining consumers’ trust and confidence in the retail investment market, building a more sustainable sector and making it easier for people to find their way around and get the help they need. This is more important than ever before.”
John Pain MD
Retail Markets FSA
As mentioned above, Cockburn Lucas broadly welcomes the FSA’s introduction of RDR. However, regulating a company of our size, and the IFA sector in general, in the same way as regulating, say, a multi-national bank, is frankly not the way to go in our humble opinion. But that is only our opinion. We will leave the banker bashing to the Great British publicm, whom we aim to serve!
For further information on how the Retail Distribution Review will enhance the service that you already receive, please download our guide below:
A guide to the Retail Distribution Review – Click here to download
To read the FSA’s stance on how the RDR will effect the advice you receive, please download the following guide: FSA – Guide on RDR
Our investment partners at AXA Wealth have released the following short video to help you understand just how RDR is going to effect you:
