The Association of Independent Financial Advisers (AIFA) has today unveiled a paper on the future of financial regulation in the UK that it intends as a starting point for industry discussion.
It is seeking responses from members of the IFA community by the first of June.
AIFA Director General Chris Cummings said the London-based organisation “would…urge the industry to engage with this debate, and offer their views on the regulatory structure of the future”.
Cummings said appropriate implementation and supervision of existing regulation can often be “more effective” than new laws, adding that “in themselves, new structures do not automatically lead to better outcomes for firms or consumers.
"This can only be achieved by setting clear regulatory objectives, which are consistent and focused on protecting the consumer, not from his or her poor decisions but from unscrupulous market participants.”
The Future of Financial Regulation, as the AIFA paper is called, outlines AIFA’s view of the current macro influences at play within financial services, and the potential impact on the regulatory structure in which IFAs work.
It also summarises recent proposals for reform at a UK level from Lord Turner, Hector Sants and the government, as well as ideas set out by opposition parties, and by Jacques de Larosière and the G20 for EU and global regulatory change.
How some of the proposed reforms would impact the IFA sector is also examined.
The paper is available at: http://www.aifa.net/news/publications.php. Responses are to be sent to info@aifa.net.
