The review followed implementation of the RDR in 2013 which aimed to enhance standards of professionalism, removing key biases, and ensuring the cost of advice is clear.
Nick Poyntz-Wright, director of long-term savings and pensions at the FCA, said: “Most firms are using the ‘independent’ tag correctly, which is important in helping consumers understand what service they are buying.
“But, for those firms who remain unsure, we are providing further help so that they can better understand the standards they need to meet.”
One of RDR’s central elements was that financial advisers operate as either ‘restricted’, where they are only able to recommend certain products and providers; or ‘independent’, where they have to objectively consider all types of retail investment products to meet the needs of a retail client.
In April, the FCA will look at how cost and services are disclosed by advisers.
