8th June 2010

PanaceaIFA LinkedIn group

"What do you think should be George Osborne's priorities in his emergency Budget on 22nd June and how will these affect your IFA firm"?

Panacea now has a discussion group on LinkedIn

Although this group has been live a very short time, it is attracting some interesting comments on issues that impact upon IFAs.

We raised the subject of Chancellor George Osborne's emergency Budget on 22nd June and asked " What do you think should be his priorities and how will these affect your IFA firm"?

It was felt that a major priority for IFAs should be to reduce the cost and burden of regulation, making it relevant to the sector and not having this sector subsidise the wrongs of others within the jurisdiction and control of the FSA.

IFA Lyn Cooke said "His priority should be to focus on the groups that are causing most complaints and to lift the onerous burden of regulation for regulation's sake. The FSA has built and is continuing to build an empire on a theory that is totally flawed and is searching for problems in spite of the evidence that few exist in the arena being investigated. The results are that truly independent financial advice is being eliminated under the pressure of excess regulation and regulatory costs to support an overpaid hierarchy built on a seriously flawed theory"

Eugan Neagu "I don't think that Mr. Osborne has any priorities for IFAs. It is more important to reduce the government spending with �£6bln as this will increase the confidence in pound and it will help the economy to recover. Lyn, I am also an IFA but I don't feel the "burden of regulation", at least not at the same degree like you. And I don't think that independent advice is going to be eliminated. We are here to stay and people need us".

Alistair Lyon "The RDR has good and bad in it, and we may even differ as to which is which, but it will affect most of us. While not wanting to discard everything I suggest he asks the FSA to justify continuing with it faced with their own admission that costs are now some 500 % higher than those assumed in their dubious original cost/benefit analysis. Can you think of any competent business that would continue with a project where cost assumptions were out by that magnitude, without at least going back to the drawing board, and for that matter having some fairly heavy management accountability for the errors".

Edward Hamilton "Mr. Osborne's focus should be on regaining the trust of the individual consumer in the financial sector. He needs to focus on the high-street banks to get them lending effectively and putting their clients ahead of their bottom-lines. Once the consumers start feeling that there are opportunities for them to borrow, save or invest they will come back creating momentum that will have a carry-over effect for the IFA market".

Have your say on matters that matter and follow the informed views here.

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