Pete Horrell, managing director, UK, Fidelity International, also welcomed the findings: “Good advice is critical to making the right long term financial decisions but there is no one size fits all. Putting more thinking to a better definition of financial advice and creating clarity on what constitutes generic assistance and that of a personal recommendation is a great step forward.”
He added: “We are also pleased to see that more effort will be put into understanding the importance of automated advice models, the role of the employer in helping to engender a savings culture and a pensions dashboard.”
Proposals from the FAMR review report include:
- Allow early access to pension pots to pay for advice costs
- Create clearer boundaries between advice and guidance to facilitate firms’ delivery of services, in particular, to strengthen the personal recommendation element of advice
- Help investors to make good decisions without going through a full advisory process
- For the Treasury to take a lead in the development of the Pension Dashboard
- Easier processes for financial adviser recruitment
- Helping firms to improve suitability reports, making them shorter and more accessible
- Promote financial guidance and advice through the workplace
- Greater development, promotion and use of ‘rules of thumb’ and nudges
- Encourage greater engagement and transparency from FOS
