It is asking larger firms to help fund a campaign to make the public aware of the importance of independent advice.
George Dodds, managing director of Homebank, said “All the talk is about the MMR and RDR and the impact they will have on the industry, which we all know could be severe.
“However my overriding concern is the ongoing destruction of independent advice, which was gathering pace even before MMR was a glimmer in the regulator’s eye. More and more people are falling into the hands of providers for whom advice can only ever be about their own product range.
“With so many intermediaries leaving the industry as the cost of being an adviser continues to rise, it means that only those with the deepest pockets, the providers, will be left standing. What terrifies me is that the public is already being brainwashed into believing that advice from a product provider is really advice.
“I have many examples of inappropriate products being sold direct to the public by providers and I know that if a regulated adviser firm audited by the FSA had offered the same ’advice’, it would have had its permissions revoked and fines imposed.
“Leaving aside the different interpretations of how advice differs, the main issue is the poor British public being forced to accept what is little more than product placement instead of genuine advice based upon filling a real need from a whole of market choice of products.
“As a consequence, without any real incentive to compete, product providers are going to become flabbier and their products will represent more the needs of the provider and less those of the customer.”
He added “I am prepared to put my hand in my pocket to help fund a public awareness campaign including TV advertisements and would call on other larger advice firms to contribute to a fighting fund under independent control.
“If we can persuade our trade bodies to get onboard and lead this, perhaps between us we can persuade the public that real advice has nothing to do with what banks and others are passing off and everything to do with comprehensive product research based on established needs.”
