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Advisers have the regulator they deserve and cannot blame the Financial Conduct Authority for their problems.
The fact of the matter is there are still too many advisers who are not up to the task according to Investment Quorum chief executive Petronella West.
She was a guest on the last episode of Langcat’s HomeGames podcast of 2021 (8 December) and made some pointed criticisms of the profession.
West said: “We have the regulator the industry deserves. It is not the one I think my firm deserves. There are some very good firms out there but the financial planning industry is still quite flawed.
“But bringing it all together fundamentally, the financial industry is still quite flawed and a lot of advisers do not cut the mustard.”
She observed how a small number of advice firms can do a lot of damage and too many consumers still get poor advice.
“I have a bug bear about the British Steel debacle: How is it possible in today’s age that this mess is allowed and continues to fester?
“That affects us all from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) levies we all got this year. I am paying double – £50,000 – compared to £25,000 last year. I am bailing out the crap.
“You can blame the regulator but quite frankly it is not there to be gatekeeper of doing the right thing. It is there to stop things when it finds them out but because by then it is too late.”
West went onto say the sector is moving in the right direction but more needs to be done.
“We need more advisers with that right philosophy and culture in them. The new ones coming through show where there is a really good future but we need to work a little bit harder at it. Consumers are not getting everything they should get.”