Opinion: Can you shortlist? Can you choose?

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After ‘how many angels can dance on the head of a pin?', one of the stranger questions I hear is ‘will we be allowed to not recommend a product when regulation comes in?'

Thursday, September 17th 2009, 3:26PM 1 Comment

by Russell Hutchinson

It would take a lot of space to dredge through all the assumptions behind such an idea, but the central one is that somehow you cannot have a limited product universe.

I cannot read the minds of the Securities Commission any more than you, but you may be interested to know that a little while ago Britain's Financial Services Authority examined the issue after a complaint from a client that their mortgage broker did not recommend a cheaper ‘direct' special offer (that would have paid no commission), but instead chose to recommend a product from the company's list.

The FSA came back and, much to everyone's relief, decided that the company did not have to scour the earth searching for the cheapest deal, not bearing any commission at all - a sort of financial Mother Theresa.

Now that is a comforting thought, isn't it. Provided our own regulators come to a similar conclusion.

But there remains work to be done. Companies can be helpful here too - differentiating between direct and adviser offers, and restricting access to certain products according to the channels (types of advisers) that may wish to access them.

This will make the management of recommended product lists at adviser businesses easier. There is a consumer benefit too: it will also ensure that quality financial advice is always available to consumers - because if you mandate a price of zero - supply will pretty soon dry up.

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