Indeed, clients increasingly want to pay a fair price, valuing personal attention and a tailored approach, notes Matt Lonsdale, relationship manager at BNY Mellon’s Pershing.
He says: “Firms will need to strike the right balance between costs and service because a continuing focus purely on driving costs down can only go so far, beyond which it will have a negative impact on the sector, possibly including some unintended consequences.”
For example, he says a further squeezing of costs could lead advisers to target higher net worth investors to maintain a high revenue per client and the consequence of this would be a widening advice gap and worsening outcomes for smaller investors.
Key points
- The FCA has called for input about the impact of RDR on the access to advice
- Many think advice has become the preserve of the wealthy
- Clients want to pay a fair price, valuing personal attention and a tailored approach
He adds: “The FCA’s latest enquiry has opened the discussion, and hopefully a collaborative approach will follow, taking into accountthe challenges of managingan advice business and the complexity of providing financial advice, while incorporating the need for advice and the desire forfair pricing.”
Victoria Ticha is a features writer at Financial Adviser and FTAdviser.com
