Independent agents not independent

FINANCIAL advisers mislead regular investors by posing as independent when they are really selling from a panel of financial services products or are even tied agents. The charge is made by the London Society of Chartered Accountants, which wants the Financial Services Authority to scrap direct sales and tied agencies so that financial advice can be 'a profession as respected as that of accountant or solicitor'.

More than a third of regular investors say their financial adviser has never been straight about whether they are truly independent.

LSCA's David Rangeley said: 'Some people are calling themselves independent advisers, yet are anything but independent because they merely sell from a panel of products and don't research the whole market. Tied agents and bancassurers give advice that is neither independent nor suits the client's needs.'

Accountants are training to move in on the IFA advice market and will be the most important source of financial services advice within five years, the LSCA claims.