Move to wholesale advice continues apace

The push towards embracing a wholesale advice model is gaining pace, according to discussion at the Stockbrokers and Investments Advisers Association (SIAA) annual conference.

In two panel discussions during the conference there was broad agreement that the move towards wholesale advice was being driven by the regulatory burden, costs and risks perceived to be associated with the delivery of wholesale advice.

JB Were chief executive, Maria Lykouras confirmed that her firm was already predominantly providing wholesale advice because it had assessed the issues around the delivery of retail advice.

As well, a straw poll of conference participants initiated during another panel by Deloitte director, Investment and Wealth, Mark Ryan, found that a significant majority had formulated a strategy around a shift to wholesale advice delivery.

The discussion around wholesale advice delivery came against the background of concern expressed about the number of orphaned clients which could be now counted in the millions.

The discussion around wholesale advice strategy also followed a message delivered to the SIAA conference by the Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services, Stephen Jones, that delivery of the Quality of Advice Review recommendations would take longer than many would like.