In February, the chairman of AIFA, Lord Hunt, wrote to his opposite number at the Financial Services Authority, Sir Howard Davies, to call for an extension to consultation period and implementation of its proposals for reforming polarisation. And, in an annoucement yesterday it was revealed that he was successful.
Commenting on the decision, Paul Smee, director general of AIFA, said: "In February we asked for an extension of the consultation period. For the first part of the paper, which covers issues to do with the reform of polarisation including the defined payments system and the cost benefit analysis, the FSA is now prepared to receive our response by the end of April. For the wider proposals set out in Chapter Five on the regulation of advice, the FSA has now extended the deadline until the end of May."
"We are pleased that the FSA has given the industry more time to respond to this important paper. We also asked the FSA to consider the pace of implementation and were somewhat reassured to be told that the FSA were looking to proceed at a ‘sensible pace’, with ‘phased implementation manageable for IFAs, providers and clients’. We remain of the view that if the proposals on disclosure of the cost of advice are to be introduced, then they should be implemented in all parts of the market at the same time."
