FSP takes 'quality of advice' definition into own hands

Dealer group Financial Services Partners (FSP) has taken the task of defining ‘quality of advice’ into its own hands following indications the regulator aims to define the term.

The dealer group plans to put the question to its own clients. Four thousand of the group’s clients from its 100 offices will be surveyed by an external research house.

The aim of the survey will be to understand what clients believe 'quality of advice' to be following indications that the regulator aims to define the term, FSP head of business development Steve Thomson said.

“I just find it bizarre that everybody else can have a say on what quality of advice is except the people who are actually getting it, so we’ve decided to ask them,”

Thomson said.

Following the survey, advisers could choose to introduce an annual ‘score card’ which clients could use to measure their performance.

The benchmarks could include actions taken by the adviser to meet particular goals agreed to between the adviser and the client. These could relate to the implementation of personal and general insurance cover, investment performance and cost savings on home loans.

“Regardless of what happens in the investment markets, the advice can still be quality because it has done what it has said it would do,” Thomson said.

The results of the survey will be announced at the FSP national conference in September this year.